Scola's Law of IT: Given the clear choice of a simple solution or a complicated solution, people will choose the more complicated solution every single time. When you challenge someone and try to explain that the more complicated solution is not necessary, you will be met with blank stares, and you will be ignored completely.

I am so burned out in my career.

Someone called the police because a father took off his toddlers' bathing suits so that they could shower the sand off at the beach. [link]

Given the clear choice of a simple solution or a complicated solution, people will choose the more complicated solution every single time.

Relatedly, I just got an email forwarded by my mother from a friend of hers. The friend asked my mother to forward me her question. I emailed her directly last week. (And we have corresponded before) How does she not have my address?

Tom Scola! Weren't you having some major career shakeup? What ever happened with that?

What timeframe are you talking about? I was laid off last year, was unemployed for six months, and started working for NYC a year ago.

In general, I'm burned out at what I do, I want to do something else, but I don't know what that is, and I have some deeper personal issues to work out before I can figure out what would make me happy career-wise.

I was laid off last year, was unemployed for six months, and started working for NYC a year ago.

Oh yeah! Now I remember all of those steps. I just forgot. And I 100% hear you on "want to do something else, don't know what that is." Both when I got out of grad school and when I moved up here I thought it was the chance to Do Something Different, but quickly realized it was the time to Get A Job, and it's way easier to get a job doing what you've already done. Ah well.

In general, I'm burned out at what I do, I want to do something else, but I don't know what that is, and I have some deeper personal issues to work out before I can figure out what would make me happy career-wise.

I said this almost verbatim to a friend last night. I'm so burned out on editing, but I don't know if it's editing in general, medical editing, or just my company. But in my case, my hand is forced anyway.

And I have absolutely zero idea what I want to do next. And while I've worked out some of my personal issues, there are more, that I've never talked about here. I don't think they'll impede a job search, but they do make some parts of my life painfully difficult from time to time.

So...yeah.

Someone called the police because a father took off his toddlers' bathing suits so that they could shower the sand off at the beach

Worth reading the comments just for this one:

you are teaching them that its ok to take their clothes off in public and second, with all the crazy people and petafiles out there it just a stupid thing to do!!

BEWARE THE PETAFILES!

Can I sit on the fringes of this conversation and nod emphatically? In my case, I have so few skills outside of what I do that doing something else means going back to school. Or, you know, writing a bestseller in my spare time. It sort of paralyzes me to think of going back to school at 46 and making the wrong choice of major, you know? If I do it, I want it to be something that will guarantee steady work.

It sort of paralyzes me to think of going back to school at 46 and making the wrong choice of major, you know? If I do it, I want it to be something that will guarantee steady work.

I'm actually thinking about going back to school, too. Or getting a job and going back to school a few hours at a time. And it's intimidating as SHIT.

WE COULD GO TOGETHER.

Or something.

I have to admit, it also paralyzes me to think of paying for school at this point, when Ben will be going in a few years, and then Sara. And I sort of don't want to spend my retirement paying off school loans, when I don't have a retirement plan yet in the first place.