Comment by jakemcgraw | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jakemcgraw | Hacker News Reader

I'd like to add a bit of personal perspective to this op-ed.

I personally know the author, Jon Levine, in fact, I'm the guy that got him the "dead-end job" with my family's firm. He's a member of the "I have an Ivy League degree, I deserve a job" a set. Never mind his degree was in history and political science, he felt entitled to a prestigious, high paying job in the worse economy in 70 years.

After a 5 month job search without a callback, I stepped in, did a favor and got him an entry level position at a very small PR firm. This was not a "dead-end job", he was the first hire at a newly formed company, there was definitely an opportunity for him to grow his career in a highly lucrative field. But, being that he went to NYU and Columbia (notice the name dropping in the article), growth didn't come fast enough for him.

We accommodated him (time off, flexible hours) while he spent two months trying to find another job. When nothing stateside panned out, he gave us three days notice before leaving for China. It's been a very surreal day for me, I'm incredibly disappointed that he chose to criticize a job which he only gained through my action.

I don't know whether any of you should go to China, but hopefully I've given you a little perspective on why he did.

TL;DR: I know author, he couldn't hack it stateside, took China job as last restort, not as some enlightened life decision.

What you did to help seems very friendly and supportive, but it's apparent to me that you're taking out some unmentioned frustrations in this post. Truly, it sucks to give someone a shot and not get the thanks you deserve for that. This guy sounds like a flake.

I still think that it's possible that you did a nice, commendable thing to help him, AND it was a dead-end job to him. It sounds like changing things up was exactly what he needed. Also, moving to a (very) foreign country to make a living doesn't sound easy- I think it's easier for me to "hack it" here in Silicon Valley than to move overseas in search of happiness.

Different strokes for different folks.

I'll admit that the base pay wasn't great, though most compensation was bonus based, and the work load was chaotic (very busy one day, nothing for four days), but here's a timeline and I'll let you judge:

He joined us in August... We launched in November... He started shopping for another job in January... He quit in February...

He is my girlfriend's childhood friend's younger brother. After doing a year of postgrad at Columbia, he spent April to August looking for job, which did not pan out. I was putting together all of the tech for this firm, I knew they had an entry level position.

There was no interview process, no whiteboards, no nothing, I said "Hire this guy, he's hard working and smart, and look at those prestigious degrees!" They met him and then offered to hire him next day. So, this guy went from no call backs in a five month job search to being offered a job after a single interview.

Of course he felt that we were under utilizing his skills (he felt like a glorified secretary), but PR is a networking business, clients want to talk to the guy they've worked with for 20 years, not some dude who started a month ago.

I don't mean to drag all this out into the public, but, this op-ed is the definition of adding insult to injury. I like to make connections, if I know about an opportunity, I really enjoy putting people together. It's something I've always done and now I'm going to question myself every time because this blew up so badly.

I know exactly what you mean. I have also vouched for someone in the past and watched it flame out. I try not to let it cause me to be less generous in the future.

> I'll admit that the base pay wasn't great, though most compensation was bonus based, and the work load was chaotic (very busy one day, nothing for four days), but here's a timeline and I'll let you judge:

What you're describing does kind of sound like some type of a dead-end job. Little pay, fucked up hours, chaotic environment.

> He joined us in August... We launched in November... He started shopping for another job in January... He quit in February...

Sounds like he stuck it out for as long as he could. Two months with no pay will do that.

> I don't mean to drag all this out into the public, but, this op-ed is the definition of adding insult to injury.

All this over one line that names no-one...?

"NOT long ago, I was stuck in a dead-end job near Greenwich, Conn."

I'll assume there is more to this story.

He was paid from day one (in August).

Google author name and see if you can figure out his place of work.

Not to mention he is experiencing China in the most boring way possible. Going to a country to teach English is great if you are looking to offset the cost of a vacation, but is hardly a long-term career path. Not only are you not learning anything new, but your job is to distance yourself from the culture you are living in. You're certainly not going to learn much Chinese, and the only culture you learn is the kind that needs to be 'corrected' to interact with your home country.

Not so true. Being teaching English means he will meet many interesting young Chinese. The danger is to eat burgers everyday and stick with a bunch of foreigners. Still, it is ok as a first step. Better go to inner cities.

Then go deeper, learn Chinese, etc.

As a Millenial...I resent people like him that create a weak image of this generation.

I'm reminded of this blog post by Eric Sink: http://www.ericsink.com/Career_Calculus.html

It sounds like this kid is spending way to much time managing people's perceptions of him rather than just managing his career.

Although I do think this guy is naive and should reserve judgement until he has had real time to reflect, I don't think there is a tremendous difference between managing people's perceptions vs. managing a career. As it has been since ancient times, much of your success will be based on family and social ties, which are themselves mostly built on perception. We as techies like to imagine the world as entirely merit based, but of course business remains an inherently human enterprise.

I don't know what kind of career you're talking about, but as a software dev, you just come to an interview, get a job and earn a living. No family or social ties are involved.

That's too short-sighted.

Even if you expect to be a software developer the rest of your working life, there are a lot of job opportunities that won't be available if you don't network - even if you're brilliant, there might be another guy just as good as you, but who got the referral instead of you (and that's being optimistic and a bit naïve and believing that it's all merit-based).

Networking is nice bonus but not depending on it for making a living gives you even more leverage.

Networking is a form of leverage as well.

Your (raw) talent is also a leverage.

Your skill is also leverage.

Depending on any of them individually is a disaster.

Being able to get along with just one is a huge advantage. Which actually increases the value of other ways.

I got my first taste from this mindset two days ago: An undergrad from Wharton sends me a Facebook PM saying he loves my startup, wants to work for me.

We go on a Skype call where he keeps on boasting on how he is "special even among Wharton people" and how he can "help me get millions in funding".

I tell him I don't need funding and that he can help me do biz dev and he'll get a generous commission, than he says he needs "co-founder" status for that. End of call.

"I was in my early 20s, overeducated with a series of non-performing degrees from New York University and Columbia, and frustrated"

I think the author acknowledged that...

Everybody has their own side of story. While I respect your side of story, his side of story was that he's frustrated with the way of life in the USA and he went east to China.

Whether he can hack it in USA today, tomorrow, or in the future, who knows. But he made his mind up and move to China. That takes a lot of guts.

Thanks for the personal perspective, it's very interesting considering how inflammatory the article is written. I've seen a lot of the Ivy League "I deserve a cushy 200k+ job" mindset, I'm just disappointed this guy didn't get a reality check before leaving

Thanks for the background story.

By reading the article I've got an impression of a successful escape from wage slavery. But the thing that struck me as odd is his new job in the promised land. How teaching English in China is not a dead-end job? I mean, one day you teach English to Chinese students, and suddenly you ... teach English to more Chinese students?

By that standard, what's not a dead-end job? Today you develop software, tomorrow you... develop more software?

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