Metadata
- Author: Vaishnav Sunil
- Full Title:: Liquid vs. Illiquid Careers
- Category:: 🗞️Articles
- Document Tags:: Career Tips,
- URL:: https://www.optimaloutliers.com/p/liquid-vs-illiquid-careers?r=74c8x&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true
- Read date:: 2025-01-02
Highlights
When human capital is built through non-linear or less legible paths, the lack of legibility increases variance from the employer’s perspective. (View Highlight)
Given these hidden benefits, you’d expect these paths to be crowded. That’s one argument in favor of pursuing non linear, illiquid paths instead. You should expect “alpha” in these paths precisely because lots of smart, conscientious people are terrified of uncertainty. Maybe you can afford to be less of those things if you’re willing to be brave? (View Highlight)
Illiquid career paths typically yield a wider distribution of outcomes. For those aiming at the extreme positive tail, leveraging unique strengths and actively managing one’s career become crucial. This approach can potentially lead to outsized returns in terms of impact, personal satisfaction, and financial rewards. However, these paths aren’t suitable for everyone. They demand higher tolerance for uncertainty, proactive career management, and often rely more heavily on social capital and personal initiative. So if you’re looking for a nice job that pays the bills and can fund your lifestyle, you should probably chase liquidity at the expense of expected return. (View Highlight)