I think the biggest mistake most people make when they pick their first job is they don't worry enough about whether they'll love the work, and they worry more about whether it's good experience
Interpretation
Choosing a job should prioritize passion over just gaining experience.
Steve Ballmer emphasizes the importance of loving your work when selecting your first job. He argues that many people tend to focus too much on the perceived value of experience rather than the joy and satisfaction that comes from doing work they are passionate about, which can lead to a fulfilling career in the long run.
In practice
In a graduation speech to inspire new graduates entering the job market.
The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn't think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential.
I loved every minute of my time at Microsoft, but I had always envisioned having another phase of life just because I thought that would be interesting. It had never been my plan to work until I literally didn't want to do anything and then hang it up.
Sometimes you take a job for the money, sometimes you take it for the location, sometimes you take it for the script; there are just a number of reasons, and ultimately what you see is the whole landscape of it. But I can tell you from behind the scenes - that's what it is, as an actor.
Putting lifestyle first is how you find a job - not a calling.
Careers are a jungle gym, not a ladder.
My only advice is to try to get the job that's most like the job you want, rather than the one that's more prestigious. Always try to be the talent.
Fresh out of college, you tend to join a company because it's a job. But, you tend to stay because it becomes a career; you start to feel at home. In the beginning of your career, you're focused on you: 'I like this place because I'm doing rewarding work; they take good care of me; the people are nice; there's runway for me,' etc.
There are many more jobs out there than you have ever heard of. Your dream job might not yet exist. If you had told 'College Me' that I would become a professional YouTuber, I would've been like, "That is not a word, and it never should be."
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