Careers for Generation COVID: Options for the New Abnormal

The job market that Generation COVID is facing is harder and different. Of course, my advice varies with the client, but my Psychology Today article today presents areas I've invited clients to consider.

Leaders’ Tough COVID Task: Handling a corona-caused layoff

Sure, being a leader is prestigious and often lucrative. But there are downsides, some of which are more common amid the COVID economic shutdown, for example, having to lay off people.
Of course, every situation and every leader is different, but my Psychology Today article today offers one way that painful situation might be approached. After, I’ll list the principles that were embedded.

Happier in the COVID Lockdown? A surprising number of people are

Of course, there are reasons for the coronavirus pandemic to make you sad. Maybe you’ve been laid off or precluded from working because your job is at, for example, a hotel or restaurant. Or the closing of schools has made you responsible for childcare 24/7. Or you might have been okay with Stay-Home for a while, but cabin fever has taken over.  Or you contracted the coronavirus. Even if your case is mild, it isn’t fun having a flu-like disease nor being quarantined. And merely hearing of the pandemic-sized death toll sobers even a Pollyanna.

But among the not-so-vulnerable people who will, at some point, have a choice to resume life sort of as we knew it, most—yes surprising to me, most—people I’ve spoken with say they're, net, happier now.

It’s been said that we’re social animals and that we crave freedom. So how can anyone be happy with less human interaction and less freedom: We can’t go to work. We can’t go to restaurants,  concerts, ballgames, bars, nightclubs. In certain jurisdictions, we can’t even invite friends to a picnic in the park. We can’t yet get our wild hair cut.

My Psychology Today article today offers some thoughts on why.

AI: Maximizing the Potentials, Minimizing the Perils

It’s easy to see both the up- and downsides of artificial intelligence.

Just a few upsides: more accurate medical diagnosis, safe, fast automated vehicles, AI-driven instruction that ever adapts its style and pace based on the student’s ongoing performance.

On the downside, luminaries such as Bill Gates and Elon Musk worry that self-teaching AI computers could get smart enough that humans won’t be able to stop them from nefarious ends.

It would seem that, per Stuart Russell, author of Human Compatible, that we optimize risk/reward if we take two steps: 1. Don’t let the computer “know” the goal of the software. 2. Block the computer from making decisions beyond a certain magnitude—that when implications of a decision go beyond a certain point, human override is required. It’s kind of like the car salesperson who has discretion to give a 10 percent discount, but if more seems required, the boss must approve.

Another fear about AI is that an evil individual or entity could use it to nefarious ends. A few examples: release a murderous virus into the water supply, threaten to close down the electric grid unless paid a zillion dollars, or develop an algorithm for manipulating people into voting for Candidate X. (Whoops, that already pretty-much exists.) Of course, most powerful things, notably nuclear energy, could be used cataclysmically, yet most experts conclude that, rather than prohibit it, it’s wiser to install in-computer and human oversight.

A similarly moderate stance could apply to genomic research. On the upside it could better address such diseases as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease and create drought-resistant-, high-protein, and insect-repellant crops. Gene editing might eventually be used to create a super-intelligent human. Yes, that person’s brainpower could be used for social good but what if the gene-editing also caused him or her to have to live in physical pain? Or the person could use the hyper-intelligence for personal gain even if it causes great pain to the world. Again, it would seem that regulation, both built-in and legal might yield the risk/reward sweet spot.

What worries me is that such restrictions may move such research to jurisdictions that have looser restrictions. For example, the worldwide consensus has been that for now at least, gene editing be conducted only for research, not clinically. He Jiankui defied that by using CRISPR to edit the embryos of two recently born twin girls in what he said was an effort to prevent them from contracting HIV. Russian scientist Denis Rebrikov is planning to insert a gene into an embryo that would enable deaf couples to produce hearing babies. Geneticist Bing Su has inserted a gene for brain size, which is correlated moderately with intelligence. So, in this big world of ours, amid ever advancing gene editing tools, it seems quite likely that, given the huge stakes—even a country or non-state-actor creating an army of supergeniuses—that restrictions would move some non-complying research underground.

En toto, it’s probably wise to establish restrictions on AI: laws, professional standards, and, more difficult, building-in limitations to AI software: forcing them to switch off when the stakes are great or the implications unclear. Social norms and fear of punishment will facilitate research that has a positive risk-reward ratio while restraining less advisable research. Outright bans would likely yield worse net results, as occurred when religion restricted scientific research in the Dark Ages. It seems we must accept that the perfect is the enemy of the good. Despite the likely excesses, it seems wise to bet on humankind, that, net, we’ll probably derive positive effects from AI. It certainly will be interesting to watch.

Our Multiple Authentic Selves

A client today said that she doesn't want to be a phony and has a hard time being her authentic self. I explained that we have multiple authentic selves; each is a different part of ourselves. Using a particular persona in an interaction isn't phony, it's flexible, the opposite of narcissistic. She found the concept liberating.

I explain, including a list of possible authentic selves, in my Psychology Today article today. 

On Turning 70 The thing I most want to tell you

I’ll be 70 next month and wanted to write something special. To come up with something I thought might be worthy, I reviewed my thoughts on career, relationships, money, mental health, physical health, and the meaning of life. One thought rose to the top. I talk about it in my Psychology Today article today.

The Daily Eating Plan; A good tool for weight loss?

I have tried so many things to try to lose those 20 pounds, and yes it’s harder when sheltering in place. Even though I’ve purged my home of my danger foods (well, most of them), sufficient calories remain in my house and my restraint is inconsistent enough that I'm still wearing those 20 pounds.

Well, I got an idea today amid my daily morning reverie between sleep and getting up: What if I made a list of what I plan to eat that day? I’m decent at completing my to-do list, so might it help me lose weight?

I put the list plus some motivators on the kitchen counter where I do my food preparation. I share what I wrote and how I did on Day One in my Psychology Today article today.

The Books by My Bed: What I’m reading during the lockdown

During the day, I read too much about corona. At bedtime, I want to read anything but.

One of my many bad habits is to clutter my bedroom, even the bed, with too many books, a number of which I’m reading at the same time. Perhaps one or more might tempt you, at least temporarily, away from COVID obsession. I describe them in my Psychology Today article today.

Often-Asked Career Questions Amid the Pandemic

Amid COVID, my career counseling clients are asking the same questions only with greater worry. My Psychology Today article today offers two common questions and my responses.

Getting Happier With Your Virtual Meetings

Most of us, from counselors to clerks to CEOs, are spending lots of time in virtual meetings, both professional and personal. And many people are unhappy with how they look or sound, and find themselves getting distracted. My Psychology Today article today offers some thoughts.

Gardening’s Subtler Benefits

Previously, I summarized gardening’s well-known benefits: seeing the miracle of growth, it being good exercise, plus some gardening how-tos.

My Psychology Today article today focuses on gardening's more subtle benefits.

Living Smarter: A synthesis of this six-part series plus a few additional ideas

My Psychology Today article today is the final installment in a series of how-to-do-life posts for unusually intelligent people.  It synthesizes the previous installments while adding a few ideas.

Recreation Ideas for the Super Smart

Of course, even the brainiest person might want recreation to provide a rest from using all that brainpower. I know a high-powered lawyer who, at home sews boxer shorts for her boyfriend while watching cartoons.
But intelligent people may want to think big even in their recreation, to take on a fun project, what I call a projation. I offer examples in my Psychology Today article today.

Money Advice for the Super Smart: Earning, investing, donating

Brainy people tend to have more options for earning, investing, and donating money. My Psychology Today article today offers some thoughts on how to deal with these options.

Parenting a Smart Child

Smart parents tend to have smart kids, so you have a leg up in parenting, but issues remain. I try to address some in my Psychology Today article today.

Romantic Relationships for the SuperSmart

My Psychology Today article today offers suggestions for very intelligent people who'd like to meet a peer for a romantic relationship.

The Case for Elitism: Why the best-and-brightest are now the under-served

I believe that historians will look back at the descent of America and blame much of it on the replacement of focus on the best and brightest with a focus on "the least among us." I make the case in my Psychology Today article today. 

The SuperSmart at Work: Succeeding solo, with peers, or with lesser lights

Brilliant people often get frustrated or into trouble at work, because of their brilliance. My Psychology Today article today offers suggestions.

Careers for the SuperSmart

Some highly intelligent people choose to use their smarts to just slide by. They talk their way into jobs they can do easily, find housing that’s below-market. This article isn’t for them.
Most highly intelligent people recognize noblesse oblige, the obligation to use their gift to contribute to  Gross World Happiness.

Of course, one’s career choice should capitalize on strengths and interests and skirt  weaknesses and distastes. But all things equal, in my Psychology Today article today, I make the case that highly intelligent people will likely make the biggest difference when choosing one of two careers: medical researcher or data scientist.

If I Got Corona-Cut: What I'd Do to Land a Job Fast

Amid the millions who’ve lost their job because of the economic shutdown, knowing what I know as a career counselor, my Psychology Today article today describes what I’d do.