bad career advice
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People Are Sharing The Worst Career Advice They Ever Got (19 Tweets)

Everyone’s got an opinion, especially when it comes to careers. Whether you’re just starting out in the workforce or you’ve been punching the clock for decades, there will always be someone ready to dispense advice to you. That advice might not be solicited, or even helpful at all. But sure enough, somebody with an opinion will always be able to provide his or her two cents. People on Twitter are sharing the worst career advice they’ve ever been given, and they do not disappoint.

It all started when a psychologist, author, and podcaster named Adam Grant asked his Twitter followers, “What’s the worst career advice you’ve ever received?” He kicked off the conversation by sharing his own answer to his question. Grant said the worst advice he’s ever gotten is:

(1) Don’t waste your time helping others

(2) Drop 90% of your projects, because you can only do one at a time

(3) Don’t write a book”

It’s a good thing Grant didn’t follow that advice since he’s made a very successful career out of completing multiple projects and writing several books that help people. Grant is definitely not alone in having received some bad advice. The countless replies on Twitter definitely prove that there’s plenty of bad advice out there.

Some people were told to only focus on work when instead they found their life outside work to be the most satisfying.

A lot of people were told they had to work non-stop and have no life outside of work. This just sounds exhausting, honestly. 

https://twitter.com/HeatherAntos/status/1150531578684219396

https://twitter.com/Jordanandre1/status/1150188403817926656

Often people are told they need high levels of education to complete their goals, which was just not true for them.

And some people were told not to befriend their coworkers, which sounds like the road to a very sad, lonely existence. 

Then there are the people who got bad advice that was specific to their field. Some people had trouble predicting the future and decades ago thought the internet was just “a fad.”

https://twitter.com/davedoylemma/status/1150102310669996032

Other people were told they had to be mean in order to succeed in the sciences.

Women in particular were frequently advised to quit their STEM careers. 

Freelancers are often told they should find more secure jobs, but that’s not the case for a lot of folks.

And “go to college/grad school” turned out to be a pretttty bad career choice for many.

Some celebrities even got involved in the Twitter conversation.

Monica Lewinsky, who very infamously was involved in a White House scandal during Bill Clinton’s presidency, addressed her work history with some self-aware humor.

The truth is that every person’s work experience is different, and no single piece of advice is going to apply to everyone. At least now people are acknowledging that.

Sarah Halle Corey