Why specializing early doesn't always mean career success | David Epstein
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- čas přidán 20. 09. 2020
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A head start doesn't always ... well, help you get ahead. With examples from sports, technology and economics, journalist David Epstein shares how specializing in a particular skill too early in life may undermine your long-term development -- and explains the benefits of a "sampling period" where you try new things and focus on building a range of skills. Learn how this broader, counterintuitive mindset (and more forgiving timeline) could lead to a more fulfilling life, personally and professionally.
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This is so true, my father was the most educated guy in his family, whereas my uncle who wasn't interested in education tried a bunch of things.
Everyone in the family thought my uncle's a loser, he'll never amount to anything big as he never went to a college.
However after working a dozen of jobs(whereas my father stuck to only one job) and trying half a dozen of business ideas finally one of his business idea worked and today my uncle is a multi-millionaire.
What my father has earned in his entire life, my uncle maybe could earn in a month.
Specialization is good but it narrows down the perspective. One should be curious about everything in life.
The specialization at least guarantees you a decent pay job that you can live with while exploring your potentials, so it’s still important.
So true Mohit, felt that.
@@Oblivion1407 You're not fully wrong but that's kinda the point of this video and comment, is that when people specialise they don't develop broader skills.
doesn't matter...what matters is if you're good at what you specialise and HAPPY WITH IT. not everyone wants to be a millionaire with a business
Seems like from the book Rich Dad Poor Dad
"It is important to draw wisdom from many places. If we take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale."
- Gen. (ret.) Iroh
nice
"My cabbages"
- unknown merchant
I believe in that too
The key to his wisdom is proper aging
.
This fills me up with a burst of confidence about my career.
Why have I seen this comment a MILLION TIMES
@@andrewtsaplan1607 maybe, just maybe because there are billions of people on the planet, and you are bound to see similar sentiments.
@@justatroll4282 what is your career
@@justatroll4282 username checks out
@@souravpadhan1808 I had the same question
As a 21 y/o who is very frustrated with his scattered skills, I really needed this video. Never been happy about being a generlist. Thank you for this great insight, Ted-Talk
Me too I am a master of many lol
I'm also 21 and just this year, 3 years into my current degree, I've transferred into marine biology with the hopes of utilizing all parts of STEM I can in any work I do... felt shaky about this idea seeing as so many science courses push students to specialise but this video is giving me hope
I'm 22 years old now and still don't really know what my passion is. However, I graduated and has been working as a Content writer LOL. I feel like I can be excellent in anything I choose :) but the problem is I like so many things - which means I chose nothing...
We are on the same boat bro...even I am 21 I am not very much sure about my skills.
@@huyennguyenkhanh4620 omg I am at same stage as you
This is probably the best tedtalk I've ever encountered
check out the book for more context, it's great
@@compedium what's the name
Why making comments early doesn’t always mean instant likes
meanwhile:
thatlinekid proceeds to get instant likes by commenting early
Pin this :P
I'm dead🤣🤣
true
Now it means...
I've always felt I had to choose my career far too early. "Right, you're 15 now, what do you want to do with your entire life then?" lol
Especially considering we live past 70 years now. Why do we have to decide when we’ve barely started life?
Nobody is saying that to achieve excellence you might not go off the rails with all the dedication and determination it takes. In the end Tiger blew up. There are masses of coaches making a very good living by letting off their clients and fuelling the more lazy attractive routes. When I was a guitar teacher I'd have had no students if my approach had been 3 hours a day or you're out. You have to make a living and so you polish the egos, set modest standards for 99/100, less than 1 in 100 does the work and excels.
“When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible
So damn true!!!!
a moment of silence for the unfortunate souls who don't have access to that kind of environment 💔😭
,
anything is imposibble including not dying before reaching 125 years old?
Success is defined to us by society and if you don't come to the expectation then you are labeled as a failure, they rush you to specialize at an early age before you learn how to think, try to make you narrow expert and the problem is that we fell for these notions.
There is no definition of success and head starts are overrated. Explore diverse expertise and broaden your horizons.
As it is said, “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”
Thank you for sharing your great thoughts.
it's usually the poor and middle class parents that push their kids to specialize early because they can't afford to let their kids try the unconventional way and eventually fail. Rich parents usually don't force their kids to specialize early. so don't blame our parents they just want us to have at least a decent life
in other words, don't be a one-trick-pony.
Very cool talk, actually changed my perspective on this topic. I've always thought that specialising in one area early was the best way to form a career, and it's what I did personally, starting video-game development and animation at 13, and doing it professionally by 18. I'm 30 now and feeling very bored of my work, despite being successful and making a lot of money. Maybe it's time for me to start trying other things.
I think most people would rather be in your position than to struggle for years finding their own vocation.
Just wanted to say that I love your games and wish you the best in any plans you want to put in action :)
But the thing is, you now have money because of your head start, so you are actually free to explore other options.
@@Raven7b true story
I think it’s very important to try other things as you not only learn about yourself but also what is important to you and why. It also makes you more marketable and able to field hop if you need a change.
Procrastinators are proud after watching this
Hm, somehow I don't think that was the message. ;)
🤦♂️. U are overqualified for watching this
I was actually procrastinating while watching this😂
There's a middle ground between the 10K hours and the procrastination that you mentioned. I think in every step you must try to do your best.
Scrolling on endlessly Tiktok, Instagram, Snapchat & Facebook doesn't make you generalist, it makes you stupid lmao
Exactly, like during ancient times
All Greek philosophers were not specialized in any of the subjects, they were interested and were good in Arts, zoology, astronomy, mathematics, anatomy etc
They were polymaths, that's the reason behind their genius minds
We are made to have multiple interests rather than just one like this wicked world :)
If you agree just hit the like button ;)
.
@Ns thank you for your insightful contribution Ns
@Ns okay, 😂 from next time on wards I'll not forget to put full stop 😂
Problem here is that VC's put pressure on people to be a good businessman early in life and be specialized. I heard this gets used in Silicon Valley a lot but if your a Biotech Person in able to be a great leader you need multiple skills in Business, navigating FDA Regulations and a Post Doc or MD to succeed in this industry.
Phew 😅 this makes me feel so much better about things. I’m 33, am on my 6th field, and getting educated in a 7th field. Currently I’m in a role that is at the intersection of my previous experience and am pulling out ahead of my peers. My multi-disciplinary background/being well rounded opens up a lot more opportunities for me as I am eligible for a wider variety of roles. I honestly wouldn’t change it for the world. I think it is important to try different things to learn about yourself and what is important to you!
Thank you for your encouraging comment! How is your 7th field?
I've struggled with specializing my entire life. Only found out recently I've got ADD, without the hyperactive part. I'm doing pretty well in tech consulting with a degree and certificates in biochemistry, finance and accounting. The message is that generalist should be encouraged as much as specialists. I always struggled to stay up in class because of my attention issues. And I've lost my train of thought.
Update 2 years later: I'm in banking now 😂
Haha. I feel you ;)
Are you me?
@@lanrebloom7030 aaaand, I'm now in banking.
Haha nice. I have a similar thought process.
I think people also tend to assign moral value to doing one job, "sticking to it" and "following through". The way I see it, if you're paying your bills and enjoying yourself along the way, there's nothing wrong with that.
you go you !!!👏
Best Ted talk I ever watched. It's so much relatable to everyone of us.
Inspiring speech. I specialised early and became a chartered accountant at 23, and now at 25 I feel like it's too late to change and do something I actually like. It's easy to get hooked on a decent income and not want to retrain or change direction.
Take up a hobby. Or a lot of hobbies. It's never too late, and 25 (or 27 now) is still a lot of time.
25, too late? People can even learn new languages past their 40s.
I started to watch this video a year ago, at the time I understood his point but I was still skeptical about my future I had a late start I dropped out my college freshman year went back to hometown and go to a regular school and restart two years later so I started sophomore year 22, and find my major in 23. Now in the first semester of finding my major, I find out a business idea in my daily life by selling second hand if it’s general people they will give up cuz so low end but I had many turbulent experiences so I didn’t give up and wanna try some entrepreneur experience, and my major courses are being impeded and the professor doesn’t focus on me anymore. I was doubting myself but in the middle of my try I find out other business and international business which can be profitable and now I try there are many obstacles I earned my first bucket of money and I try to make it bigger by expanding internationally. While my classmate who early specialize is still in class studying although wen to internship early than me.
I didn't think I needed to hear this TedTalk, but it's so nice to see scientific prove that trying a range of things is, in many cases, a great option.
I personally never liked the idea of sticking to one job or one creative outlet, I have always felt the urge and desire to try many different things, which felt like I was lost on my path since everyone else already had figured life out for themselves.
Deep down I knew I'm making the right choice for myself anyway, nice to have a little backup support talking about it in a more success-driven way as well.
Wow I was agonizing for the same recently actually 😣😣😣
That's kinda sad I have no guts to believe deep in my mind like you
But now I ve got a support yay😎
I feel like all of my friends have their goals in mind. I felt so far behind them. This video is nice
@@emotionalboii I m with you🥰🥰
Big relate
Not alone.im 15 and I wanted to be programmer but thougjt
About the long hours of debugging something I don't care about, maybe become a psychologist cuz I would like it. I decided that I don't know. But I'm learning code and like it creating ai and I don't know if I will ever become a programmer. And at the same time I create a bit of electronic music on my laptop. It's pretty fun
Guess we can share this to people who ask why we learn things in school that we apparently will never need in our future fields.
I disagree. The idea here is that both focus oriented and non-focus oriented people can find success in the right field. It's impossible to tell who is who, but we should stop over-incentivizing focused growth as the only path to success. I feel like you're saying we need to flip, and take meandering growth as the correct model. But he's saying both have a place
Eh.. not really the same thing. Nobody is saying we'll never need it. It really depends on your interests. And that's the problem. School most often than not limits kids from doing more by making specific subjects (with specific syllabi nonetheless) mandatory.
The problem is we don't learn, we memorize and forget. We need to want to learn something in order to actually learn it. As David Epstein says its about wide range of interests, hobbies. I don't think forcing yourself to memorize things that you care about only because you need to pass exam is a good way to career success lol.
Students in school say that because they never see the rules being applied in practical life. I think teachers should teach students using practical life examples because currently students train for the exam instead of training for the practical life. Current way of education is making them narrow-sighted. They just memorize the information and then forget it after the exam.
Students can diversify their knowledge by focusing on their positive hobbies. Those hobbies can branch out to various fields which may help in achieving career success. The interest of students needs to be priortized as well. Their are many other ways of branching out as well but focusing students to memorize some subjects does not seem to be a good idea.
Young children’s brains are overloaded woth social media and their appearance. Most teens nowadays don’t have hobbys except for video games and make up/fashion...
I got a degree in finance, worked in sales, and ended up a software engineer. People seem to think that's crazy. I'm glad this video exists, I feel a lot better about my drastically meandering career path now.
how did u do that ? I recently got graduated with a finance degree and I am looking for a way to change career.
@@adhilk5977 getting into software sales or the engineering side? I could give advice on either - which one are you interested in?
@@reprovedcandy the engineering side. I started taking some coding fresher classes.but don't what to do?
@@adhilk5977 You should focus on building projects and learn along the way. You’ll have lots of gaps but if you focus on an end goal of getting the project built, you’ll learn a lot by the time its complete. Try to find any reason to build something and never say “no”. Once you have some basic skills, be willing to take low paid contract work and bid on Upwork jobs. You’ll get ignored like 95-99% of the time but every now and then you will get positions and you learn A LOT from those. During my start in programming, I was barely making minimum wage - but don’t let that worry you. Focus on getting as much work as you can to learn and get better, it's a long-term win for a short-term sacrifice. In a year, you’ll be 5-10x more efficient and those same $15/hr jobs become $75+/hr jobs because you’re that much better. Hope this helps
@@reprovedcandy where did you learn coding from?
This makes me feel good as a liberal arts student.
Very true. I specialized early and got my PhD at age 27. Then I quit that field altogether and became a nurse.
This was so much needed . So glad to hear the stories of great people and to realise 'oh i wasn't the only one who felt this way' and this way is good on a long run!
This is so relieving to hear.
It brings back some memories, actually. I was put in this group of "great thinkers" back in elementary school and everyone seemed to all have a niche that they mainly specialized in, whether it be math, coding, or design. They were praised all the time and I would just sit there and overhear things that I had no idea about -- the specifics of coding procedures and all that. I felt like I was an imposter amid all these great people who were already so talented at a targeted subject. I had spent most of my childhood reading a wide variety of books and I was decent at writing, but not good enough to have been considered a champion at it. I lost interest in math because I was absolutely horrible at it in a group of kids that specialized in it.
Fast forward to middle school -- I'd returned to China and was now enrolled in an international school (since my Chinese wasn't good enough to attend a regular bilingual school). Because it was a foreign country, I obviously had an advantage when it came to English (given I spent most of my childhood there), so I ascended the ranks pretty fast in that subject. However, I continued to put no effort into math or science and only focused on the subjects I was particularly good at (history and English). After all, that's what I was told as a child: that specializing in a particular niche would take you further in the long run. Consequently, my GPA lowered with my scores in basically every other class, and I grew increasingly anxious and depressed.
High school. I'm currently 16, so I'm still in the middle of it, but I feel as if a lot less pressure is on my shoulders. There is a myriad of super successful people around me -- people who have scored incredibly high on their SATs and PSATs, earned notable awards for their contributions to technology, written and illustrated published books, played in junior NBA league sports, and currently possess high grades. I have found my passion for math once more through a teacher who uses abstract learning models rather than straight ones and reignited my interest in the sciences. I acknowledge the fact that I can't achieve mastery in subjects that I simply can't bring myself to like, and that's okay. I've found that I can adapt to some wild on-the-spot situations and lead a group despite having no previous experience with the topic we're supposed to be researching. I don't have a set goal but I'm driven to do my best whenever I want to. I've had people around me open me up to new experiences I'd never considered trying before, only to find that potential to do well skyrocketing if I really put in the effort to pursue it.
My point is: you don't have to do well at all when it comes to any subject. That isn't what determines your success. Your ability to dabble in things and adapt to them is what makes you (arguably) more valuable than any specialized learner. It's better to leave yourself open to a wide range of possibilities rather than solely relying on one curriculum to get you everywhere. You don't even need potential to do well. You just need experience. That's how it goes in the real world, from what I've been told. I'm just a teenager with no specific plans on what to do or what to major in since I'm not beamingly outstanding at any particular subject, but my scattered skills make success just as possible to reach, if not more.
Coding in elementary school, really? coding? wtf kind of an elementary school is that?
So relatable. I'm so relieved to hear that there are a lot of people out there that are just like me. I wish you luck in your future!
I suppose that the real definition of an intellectual is when someone has the urges to master every new fields of discipline out of his/her specialization. Let's say a doctor, we might say that doctors are intellect because of the knowledge on what they're doing, but no, thats what they professional demands. But when a doctor mastering a new discipline like economy, philosophy, law, etc. and thats my friend is an intellectual.
I think it's very important to not undermine or even think that generals are better than specialized people. The world needs both of them. This Ted talk just shows that it's okay to take slow, meandering path before you reach success and never give up even though your friends or colleagues that started specializing way early than you already way more successful than you're.
This argument is especially true in Biotech.
I read his book which is translated into Japanese. I’m so glad to see you twice today by this video. I totally agree with his thoughts and I’m gonna focus on exploring new fields and not decide to do early only one thing. From 21 old student 👩🎓 🇯🇵 Thank you so much for great video 🤍
Hi How are you?
@@zanasoro2084 Simp
Name of books please.. English translation
Name of books please.. English translation
Name of books please.. English translation
Wow. This is such a great TED talk. I feel like sometimes society makes me think that the only way to succeed is to hyper specialize in one area in order to get good and look good to employers. I guess this may not be the only way/best way to think about how to educate a person.
It’s amazing when we realize that everything can be different only with a new perspective. Astonishing talk !!
This talk is so comforting because I feel like I have been aimlessly wandering through life. It's nice to know that something good can come out of not being able to settle down to just one specific thing right now.
Really well thought out, researched and well presented talk. One of he best I've seen. Kudos
Thank you very much for uploading this inspirational video. I'm planning to pursue my education again after taking a degree that my parents forced me into and landing in a job that I didn't enjoy at all. I'll continue my education two years later as I still need to settle many of my parents' problems. Better late than never.
Great Topic. I specialized early and I'm know longer in that field but it did let me know where I am on the food chain!
I hope it wasn’t grammar related
Reebs I bet your a hoot at parties.
Reebs The problem with people like you is, you don’t know when to be funny.
Anil Goutham the problem with people like you is that don’t know when to pluck your eyebrows
Totally agree, we are constantly changing and evolving!
This gave me goosebumps. Thank you for this.
What an amazingly well put together speech, love the visuals he tossed in there
Thank you so much for this one. I've been feeling like the one left behind. 4 years into college and I still don't know what I want to do and still no where close to a graduation. But I'm still hopeful!
The timing of this is amazing.
Honestly and candidly, that last words are wonderful with beautiful metaphors 🤩🤩
This talk might have just significantly changed my life for the better
With a billion perspectives of the world, this one surely zooms out on a lot we don't know but could learn. Thank you for this engaging and curiosity building talk.
He talks with a commanding, respectful tone. I love it
really glad I caught this talk. eye opening
Thank you. Needed this.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and ideas. I will keep in mind that 😌
This was Gold. Thank you. I couldn't think of ANYTHING better
A brilliant and inspiration talk. The speaker elaborates that although it might seems that early specialization is the path to success, the road is not a clear cut and often the "search" period is omitted.
Thank you for sharing this. All my life so far, although I'm still young and in high school, I've never really stuck to one thing. I kept doing things all over the place. I had a bunch of different short-term hobbies. And now there's a lot of talk about universities and careers coming up, and I always felt like I was behind everyone because I wasn't able to say what I want to do in the future nor what I want to study in university. This always stressed me out, I would talk to my parents about it and that didn't help either. I'm very glad I found videos like these, as they give me hope that I don't need to know exactly what I want to do, and I can keep dabbling around in a bunch of different areas.
I spent almost 20 years as a mechanic. Many certificates, much knowledge. My last job title was engineer but now I am a preschool teacher and am making half as much being twice as happy! As I pursue my career in early childhood development I feel as if it's all common knowledge so far. Really does seem to make things easier even know the knowledge gained seems irrelavant.
I'm curious how you feel your acquired life experience has affected how you approach your new teaching career.
@@pianoman47 it's a truly complexed thing my brain. All my life I wondered how's that do that. I found out the answers to all my queries. Now I want to share them with whom ask the most simplest questions that have the most to gain from the answers.
You are already an extremelly wealthy person as you have reached actual wisdom.-
I really needed this video , in a time when I have been thinking i am already late to try something new for a career.
I needed this. Thank you
Thank you so much for this
This talk has been given me so much hope and joy!
One of the most enlightening talks I've seen.
This is the TED that I know and love!!!! 💖
When I think of specializing in one thing, it gives me anxiety. I was meant to do all kinds of stuff, I honestly never cared for being the best at what I do.
I only want to do everything that I like, and I like lot's of things.
Afterall we aren't bots to specialize
Excellent ted talk! One of my favourites
Thank you! Very astonishing!
I have been thinking the other way about this for a long time. Thanks for making me consider a new perspective!
Such a great presentation and narration
Man, this is fantastic insight, especially for me just about to start my career. For the short future I suppose I'm in the clear, but its still something to keep in mind.
I couldn't agree more
My working in many different fields of Engineering and many different jobs has done wonders for me....
Learning how to fix things tends to give the person an intricate understanding of how things work....
Food for thought 🙂
This was so true, it felt like he was voicing my feelings.
Wow, now I feel like my stumbling around and going with the flow might amount to something... or not
This is one of the most underrated and underwatched TED talk ever. People these days need this type of talk to get some understanding and insight of their lives.
Man, this was totally totally totally inspiring, buffing, and just... thank you, man.
Really pleased with the recent topics they're releasing
I was so insecure about my own self. I always thought of myself as a slow racer, wasting time with sampling in my science career. I am so glad this got recommended to me or even was presented on Ted. Life saver indeed.
I needed to hear this now.
Wonderful TED talk. Thanks.
That was one of the best Ted Talks I’ve ever seen.
Wonderful speech, thank you sir
Best TEDtalk I've ever seen. Very much underrated.
"None of us can know what we are capable of until we are tested."
-- Elizabeth Blackwell
One of the best Ted talk I have ever watched, sounds like it should be common sense but no one ever had illustrated it’s importance. Thank you!
Oh, God. This is such a relief!
Whatever the vantage point, the capacity of a human is limitless. Such a wonderful gift.
this is a really good talk because i am trying to chose the right career for myself and it hard, it is good to know that i am not alone
Ausome, thanks it really opened my eyes
This is very encouraging.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I really need to hear this right now. I just finished university and now I'm working on my first real job but I'm still not sure if it's the right thing for me because it's completely different with my university major.
On the other hand, my friends are really starting high with their great income and great specialist positions. Cant help to think I'm gonna be the late one.
Possible scenario: you take the challenge about which you are not sure now. Do it for a few years. Build up a lot of experience. Have a hobby, do all sorts of things, when possible. After a few years you may find out: this isn't for me. Take all your experience built up in the unsatisfying job to a new field and be happy.
Or discover the job you are about to take now is awesome!
Anything is possible! Good luck and succes to you!
@@ankavoskuilen1725 will definitely note on this, thank you!! All the best for you too
@@nabilaelvanya9451 Thank you!
I love a TEDtalk worth watching.
that was really well done. good work! i liked it
facing a rut in my career now. currently in a new job in a new industry and I'm struggling. Thanks for this video for the motivation i need to push forward into new unknowns.
What an interesting presentation! Definitely going to be a Professor favorite for years to come
i really needed to hear this
very insightful and interesting thank you
great perspective and great book anyway. I'm currently reading his book called 'Range'
Very good knowledge. It was a learning and reflection with this excellent video. Congratulations!
Thank you so much
Very well said...
Wow! Really inspiring. Gonna run and read his book now!
Thank you! amazing!!!
I thought I know what he was going to say so I didn't intend to watch it. But fortunately I decided to make it. And it turned out to be one of the most inspirational ted talks I have ever seen. Made me less worrying and continue trying :)
Narrowing field of view is definitely there if you've been working on only one thing all your life. Good video
This video was much needed.
Thank you for helping me not feel ashamed of trying different things besides my university major
Reminds me of "rich dad poor dad" in a way. And yet, here I am, about to finish my masters before starting my PhD next year. And while a part of me really likes this path (and I think during your time as a PhD student you learn much more than what you are working on, many many soft skills etc) another part of me doesn't know whether that's a good idea and whether I am not missing out on something
I just find this video! 😊 I ever questioned myself of this idea because of the society's ideal planning
Informative speech
It's already midnight in Korea but gonna watch this tomorrow morning!! I'm a late CZcamsr and slowly growing so this will be really helpful!
Ok. Have ur time
Hi please accept to be my correspondent to speak English
Glad to be convinced that I'm on the right track.