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If you could go back 10 years and drop one career advice to your younger self… what would it be?:rocket:

We’ve all got some hard-earned lessons (and probably a few scars). Share yours below, let’s pass on the good stuff and maybe even save someone a few headaches.

Looking forward to your stories, rants, and wisdom bombs :bomb:

14 Spice ups
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I moved a lot as a kid. I committed to do my best to prevent that for my kid. As a result, I turned down several opportunities that would have involved moving. I do not regret this.

So I’d go back and tell my past self, “You’re doing it right. Keep going.”

6 Spice ups
3

I would say, “take a typing/keyboarding class before graduating from high school.”

OK, so I actually did take a typing class in 10th grade, but as an elective to fill out my schedule without any idea that it would turn out to be THE MOST VALUABLE class I ever took in my educational journey.

That was 1987, when most business communications were still on paper and few offices had a computer. Nobody had home computers. I learned typing on an actual electric typewriter. Five years later that had changed completely, and nearly every office desk and home had a PC.

10 Spice ups
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Isn’t that the truth.

Who knew?

2 Spice ups
5

I was at a job I really liked, except for my idiot boss (she was an impediment to everything). My advice would be to do everything possible to get her fired, for the good of the company.

5 Spice ups
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10 years? Wouldn’t change anything BUT 25 years ago? I would have told myself to stick it out in the Army for 20. I’ll keep this to career advice…:smirking_face:

8 Spice ups
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Uhm, I’d tell myself that this world can be difficult for a young woman in the field, and to expect less pay and less appreciation. It’s just the reality of the world in which we live. I’d also tell myself be a lot more careful with my money(regarding my heart, lost most of my savings trying to keep failed abusive relationships floating and trying to help someone that didn’t have my best interests at heart) and start investing way earlier and building wealth from my early 20s.

Now, in my 30s it’s been difficult to steer and right the ship but I’m working on it and in the process of finally buying a home but I have a long way to go and a lot of struggle ahead of me due to decisions and lifestyle choices in my early 20s. I’m truly in my girlboss era. Full time job, helping run a whole other company on the side, and building for a bright future ahead.

8 Spice ups
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Don’t go to work for Wanda

3 Spice ups
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Yup. I took typing in (early 1980’s) high school.

Only thing I’d tell my past self: you shoulda held on to 200 shares of CSCO and 400 shares of AAPL from the late 1990’s!! lol (otherwise I have no regrets and would do it all over again).

4 Spice ups
10

Go back another 30 years…

3 Spice ups
11

Hindsight is 20/20 and in 2015, money was tight. That being said, it would’ve been worth paying for courses to learn Linux, Python, Docker and AWS. You’re not going to gain valuable skills trusting an On-Prem Wintel employer to train you in anything useful as an L2 Helpdesk Tech.

Luckily, the Internet/YouTube is now awash with free, high quality tech content. So, even though the barrier to entry is lower, knowledge access and transfer isn’t limited by your own ignorance of “not knowing what you don’t know” or gatekeeping by tech teams higher up the chain.

4 Spice ups
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That office politics reigns supreme over hard work.

4 Spice ups
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Buy Apple and Microsoft stock

4 Spice ups
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Do not let other people get you in trouble.
Save more money.
Don’t be afraid to take opportunities.
Some people will hate you and treat you badly for no reason. Don’t let it affect you.

5 Spice ups
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And good marketing will get you further than good quality. Sad but true.

4 Spice ups
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Never pooh pooh COBOL. Learn to earn, treat education as the golden goose. Managers come and managers go.

4 Spice ups
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10 years? Not that much to be honest. If I have to pick one, try to keep that remote job in 2015. It was one fun while it lasted and ahead of it’s time.

2 Spice ups
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Well, 10 years ago, I was just getting out of school and starting the job I still have…those were all GOOD decisions, I’d have to go back about 40 years to change some REALLY BAD decisions I made…

Most importantly for anyone young and disillusioned, the most important thing I learned is this:

You may hate the game, but you still have to play it. Best thing you can do is play it as hard and fast as you can, get what you need, THEN you can “drop out” of the game. I tried to drop out of the game before I had anything and it haunted me the rest of my life. If I had only made a couple of good decisions about my future, I would be retired and living in a tropical paradise right now, not sitting at this desk typing this for you to read…

3 Spice ups
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Well, 10 years ago I was nervously looking for work, while riding out my time on a sinking ship (bank I worked for had been bought out). I wouldn’t change a thing as that landed me at this job, which I enjoy. I would BEG myself 10 years ago though to do two things:

  1. GET RID OF JUNK … I have hoarder tendencies
  2. BUY $5,000 in Bitcoin (I looked it up and it was $238 10 years ago today, so that would have bought 21 bitcoin, worth 1.9 million today!).
4 Spice ups
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Only 10 years? Learn more coding and cloud stuff. Now, if I could go back 35 years, I would tell myself to stay in school. Computers were not my first (or second) career choice.

Other advice I would give my 18 year old self:

  1. Fear and Anxiety are your bodies response to uncertain situations. Its a fight or flight thing. Your body is gearing you up to face the challenge so go for it.
  2. It is better to ask a stupid question and face embarrassment once than to remain silent and face a lifetime of embarrassment.
  3. Don’t marry that woman.
4 Spice ups