Happy Thanksgiving! I'm very grateful to you 🤗

Happy Thanksgiving!  🦃

I’m so thankful to those of you who reach out, share your experiences in the Slack community, and even just open and read these emails.

Your willingness to try for more is a constant inspiration.

I know many of you are still in the midst of challenging job searches and career transitions. And, I know it can be hard to lean into the holidays when your professional life is unsettled. 

No matter where you’re at in your professional journey, I hope you’re surrounded by people you like and yummy food. If you’re struggling, I hope your friends and family can sooth your worries and raise your spirits.  

If that’s not in the cards for you, please do feel free to reach out to me. I’d love to know how things are going for you! 

Wishing you all the happiest possible Thanksgiving. (And for those of you not in the U.S., I hope you have a very enjoyable regular Thursday). 

Stay Savvy, 

Emma 

Didn’t learn to code? Don’t worry about it!
A Coder Considers the Waning Days of the Craft ~ James Somers for The New Yorker
This personal essay is a meditation on the way AI will transform and possibly obviate the need for programmers as they exist today. Somers wonders, “what will become of this thing I’ve given so much of my life to?” Ultimately he sounds a cheerful note about the transferableness of his skills. But it’s nevertheless astonishing, he writes, that “bodies of knowledge and skills that have traditionally taken lifetimes to master are being swallowed at a gulp.”

For the non-programmer, this piece is a window into the world of programming as it has existed for the last decade.

Startup-land is crazy but it might be getting more sane? 
Confessions of a Middle-Class Founder ~ by an anonymous founder for New York Magazine
The last several years were absolutely ludicrous in startup land. Even those who lived through it are still too dizzy to really understand what went on. This anonymous personal essay gets close though. Side note: the fact that this piece was written anonymously tells you everything you need to know about the cultyness of typical startup culture. Typically, in the journalism world, anonymity is reserved for super serious situations where a source or essayist would suffer significant consequences for speaking out. This essay is a reminder that there’s no such thing as a loyal opposition in silicon valley. Basic candor has professional consequences. So much for free speech absolutism!

Get pissed; Get stuff done!
Anger Has Benefits for Attaining Goals ~ Heather C. Lench, Noah T. Reed, Tiffany George, Kaitlyn A. Kaiser, and Sophia G. North for the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University
Frustrated about your job search. Good! If you harness your anger you can get things done according to a bunch of professional psychologists. I have a lot of first hand experience with this. Almost everything I’ve ever accomplished, I’ve accomplished in a state of rage. Is that healthy? Am I maybe overdoing it? More research needed. 🤔

Dispatches from the land of SIGN ME UP!
We Should All Be Working Part Time for Full-Time Pay ~ Tom Malleson for Jacobin
Apparently scholarly research shows that slashing work hours is key to combating climate change. Also its good for parents who are exhausted and overwhelmed and also for people who would rather do stuff that’s not their J-O-B. I’m intrigued.

New to informational interviewing?

Are you new to informational interviewing? Here are a few articles and resource to get your started:

• If you’re wondering why you should even care about informational interviewing, here is an article about all the ways informational interviewing can change your life.

• If you’re ready to start but don’t know what to do, here is a very straightforward step-by-step guide to informational interviewing.

• If you’ve already started but are getting tripped up by all the feelings, here is a guide to riding the emotional rollercoaster of informational interviewing.

That should get you started. For more related and adjacent informational interviewing content, visit the Art of the Informational Interview!