
Ask HN: How to Create Value? - alpacaillama
I am graduating soon and might end up working at a tech company. Through my internship experiences, I sometimes find tech work to be very passive and not value-creating.<p>How can I make a switch to more value-creating roles? Is this even possible?
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kjksf
There's a lot you didn't say so it's hard to even understand what you mean,
much less provide a tactical advice.

What is "tech company" and "tech work"? Are you a programmer writing code? A
technician that sets up routers? A sysadmin setting up software for others?
Were you setting up

What exactly were you doing? In what way that work was "passive" (and what
does it even mean)?

And how do you determine what is "value-creating"?

Is "value" in this context "money" or some more philosophical "value to the
world"?

If it's money, do you mean "your salary" or the monetary value of the thing
you helped create? (you can be creating very valuable things for your employer
but be paid little, and vice versa).

I assume it was paid internship. So someone was paying you to do what you did.
Were they idiots (i.e. paying you for doing things that don't create value) or
did you create value but it wasn't reflected in your paycheck?

Once we know all that, we can start to give advice.

Without this information: there are plenty of jobs that are meaningful, create
value to the world and are well paid. Find one.

Get a job at Google and at the very least you'll be well compensated

~~~
alpacaillama
Sure. I can be more specific.

I write code working on CRUD apps and microservices and some security focused
roles.

Value-creating would be something that provides utility to society at large so
value to the world.

I was being paid money and I was very well compensated but I did not find the
work challenging or interesting, I felt like a cog in a well-oiled machine and
easily replaceable which I think are the majority of jobs out there.

~~~
kjksf
So the issue seems to be the nature of the work ("I did not find the work
challenging or interesting, I felt like a cog in a well-oiled machine and
easily replaceable").

A simple solution: start your own small business.

Write an app or a web service and sell it to people.

The work will be as challenging and interesting as you want and you'll be the
ultimate decider. A supreme leader of your own organization.

Note: by "simple" I don't mean "easy".

I'm doing exactly that, I'm working on a project that I hope will become an
income generating business ([https://presstige.io](https://presstige.io), for
full transparency) but it's risky and requires lots of work.

Also consider than your ennui is more about how you look at things than
objective reality. Many people would be deliriously happy with a stable, safe,
well paying job writing code and I'm sure many people are quite happy doing
exactly that.

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AlexDragusin
The answer to your question can be found here (needs no introduction, possibly
one of his best essays of all):
[http://www.paulgraham.com/wealth.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/wealth.html)

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hos234
Yes it is. Simplest way is to identify value creators in the org and be of use
to them. They then will automatically rope you in. Be patient and pay
attention to peoples' needs. And then start doing simple, small things for
them. Simple and small being key.

~~~
alpacaillama
Thank you for a specific suggestion. I have tried doing this and has worked
for me, but I guess because of the short nature of internships, its difficult
to build on it.

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jimmyvalmer
A wise man said premature optimization is the root of all evil. You're 22?

Flight safety instructions suggest putting on your own oxygen mask before
helping others.

Optimize along a less lofty axis first (money, experience). The taxes you pay
alone create more social "value", statistically speaking.

~~~
alpacaillama
That is fair and something that I have not considered before.

I was hoping that it might be possible to find a middle ground, where I
contribute to something that creates value and is also decent money and
experience.

