Answering ads rarely works for career changers because you have no experience in the job for which you're applying.

If you don't know what career you'd change to, I've come to believe in starting with your values. What do you care most about: producing a new product, a cause, health, something unpopular but important, whatever. Next, get expertise in that, perhaps not at State U let alone private U but at You U: self-study, articles,, webinars, volunteering, etc. Then use your network rather than answering ads to land a launchpad job in that career.

I believe the personal essay is underrated for both writer and reader. It affords the writer great freedom: to speak personally yet invoke others' ideas, to be rational and/or emotional, to be confident or admit doubt.

As a writer, you have control: You can play around with your own thoughts and when you find those insufficient, draw upon others': their wisdom, their humor, their failings.

Being a good writer may result in your being nicer to more people, having a bigger positive impact.

We're in an era in which we want to believe people have roughly equal potential. IQ gives the lie to that.

Answering ads rarely works for career changers because you have no experience in the job for which you're applying.