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Ask HN: Career for someone good at making time-sensitive critical decisions?

by preordained on 2/5/24, 5:41 PM with 14 comments

I don't think there is any way to avoid this coming off as a humble brag so I'll just shoot.

My son is really clever, always has been. It really shines in an interesting way in games like Magic the Gathering or more complex board games which our family has always been into. He dominates these things in a way that seems preternatural for a kid. I say this as an adult and a decent programmer, and my wife was top notch in school, my son (15 now) makes us feel DUUUMMMB sometimes.

I can honest to God say that if he had the domain expertise he is the one I'd want to count on to defuse a bomb or do some risky surgery. That said, I only know of things that might be suitable for such an individual from the common tropes (brain surgeon!). Is there any thing lesser known that sounds worth thinking about?

  • by MountainMan1312 on 2/5/24, 8:57 PM

    My previous job was as a Project Manager in a very fast-paced industrial fabrication shop. We generally promised 1-week from the time a customer sent us a set of shitty blueprints to the time the product is waiting to be picked up. That included making 3D models, getting parts from suppliers, fabricating the parts, powder coating them, quality assurance, etc. Some customers got 3-4 days.

    Quite often with that tight of a schedule, something would go wrong in the supply chain and we'd be left trying to find an emergency solution. It sounds bad but it was a necessity of the industry we were in. It was often similar to a strategy game, having to plan several steps ahead and predict where the delays will come from, figuring out what you can change that will be faster to produce but will still fit within the customer's requirements.

  • by Bostonian on 2/5/24, 5:43 PM

    Financial trader, although there is career risk from automation.

  • by gtirloni on 2/6/24, 1:54 AM

    I think that's a nice to have skill once he figures out what he really likes to do.

    Time-sensitive critical decisions as a career sounds like guaranteed burnout.

  • by VirusNewbie on 2/8/24, 5:22 AM

    If he's bright and does well with pressure, almost any high paying high pressure job would be a place he could succeed. He likes biology, he could be an ER doctor. If he likes tech, he could be a world class SRE. If he's a people person, sales or law would love someone like him. Trading or quant would probably be a fun game for him and make him gobs of money.

    Just encourage him to study a wide variety of topics so he can pursue his passion.

  • by badpun on 2/6/24, 11:28 AM

    Air traffic controller, firefighter, emergency rescue worker, pilot, military or police.

    Most of jobs like these are more about being able to make decisions under pressure than about being super smart, though.

  • by Desafinado on 2/6/24, 9:17 PM

    Extraversion is a big factor, what level of day to day intensity is comfortable for him. To me that's a bigger aspect to look at.

  • by ttymck on 2/6/24, 7:17 AM

    Military officer, EMT, air traffic control

  • by syndacks on 2/6/24, 2:39 PM

    Designated hitter in the MLB

  • by bhag2066 on 2/9/24, 10:48 AM

    A quarterback?

  • by nprateem on 2/6/24, 10:38 PM

    Trader