工程師作家的轉行人生

by Vanessa Wang We've all heard it before: if you're looking for a job, network, network, network. Networking for me has always been a hard concept, and not because I'm an introvert, which I am, but even introverts look forward to meeting new people every once in a while. The problem for me is that "networking" is such a vague word. What exactly does it mean? Do I just walk up to people and introduce myself as a job-seeker? Does networking mean attending in-person events like "Women in Silicon Valley Happy Hour"? And if so, how often do I have to attend these things? If you ask 10 people what networking means, chances are you'll get 10 different answers. So I'm going to give you my take on how to network, based on my experience of networking as a career changer seeking a software engineer job. 1. Set realistic expectations about networking results. Let's say you call in a baby-sitter on Friday night, so you can drive to a resta

copyright Vanessa Wang 2019 歡迎支持我的臉書專頁：【 工程師作家的轉職人生 】 Have you ever heard of the 80/20 Rule? Also known as the Pareto Principle, or "the law of the vital few," this rule states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes  (Wikipedia). I first heard about the 80/20 rule from an author I admire, Vanessa Hua . She mentioned this principle when answering my question about how to make financial ends meet while writing a book. Everyone knows that writing fiction is not lucrative--in fact, even "successful" novelists who publish up to nine novels in their lifetime may never lead more than just a modest, budget-oriented lifestyle. Hua's answer to my question was to spend 20% of her time earning 80% of the money she needs to survive, while spending 80% of her time writing--which in turn generates about 20% of her income. I encountered the 80/20 rule again in Tim Ferriss's book,  The 4-Hour Workweek . This bestselle

In Angela Duckworth's million-copy book " Grit ," she writes, "I don't think most young people need encouragement to follow their passion. Most would do exactly that--in a heartbeat--if only they had a passion in the first place." All my life I've adhered to one motto for all my decisions--follow my heart. The problem is, I often have year-long stretches in my life when I don't know what I want at all. There are just too many possibilities. I know a few things I don't want. For sure I'm not going to become an athlete or a musician or a cook, and I'm not particularly good at things that require physical labor such as gardening or looking after little kids, but among the many jobs that require thinking and analyzing and writing...I kind of think I have a knack for them all. So how to choose between engineering, or marketing, or project management, or administration? I am good at both math and writing--so what about that? How do I