TED Community » Robin Patin

More About Me

I'm passionate about

Social Media. Life, Travel, Coaching, Humanity.

An idea worth spreading

Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.

Comments

• TEDCred score: +12.60 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• +1

  A comment on Conversation: Obsolete Jobs

  Sep 19 2012: John, I disagree. Everyone has a network. However, not everyone utilizes their network to their full advantage.
  
  Don't just think of 'a network' as a group of high and mighty people. A network includes friends, family, co-workers, students in the same program, professional and private contacts. I certainly wasn't born into a life of privilege, I immigrated to a new country less than 3 years ago and I have a network of over 500 contacts on LinkedIn. Many of these people in my network have helped me find work, housing, and connections - repeatedly.
  
  You can study underwater basket weaving if you want to - in the long run, it doesn't matter. What matters most in finding work is building and maintaining a network.
• +2

  A comment on Conversation: Obsolete Jobs

  Sep 19 2012: The reality is that you often end up working in a field completely unrelated to what you studied in school. Other than fields that require credentials (engineering, medicine, law) you can study (almost) anything you want. Your career post graduation almost exclusively depends on your network.
  
  I graduated from graduate school ten years ago and no one gives a fig what I studied. The fact that I have a graduate degree is enough and my opportunities have been largely dictated by the power of my network.
  
  Just don't study anything like 'typewriter repair' or 'horse and buggy craftmanship', create a solid network and utilize that network to find jobs and you'll be fine.

• A reply on Conversation: Does America have an unemployment crisis? If so, then how would you solve the unemployment crisis?

  Aug 18 2012: James, education or re-education may be the right answer in some circumstances, but the reality is that we have a lot of unemployed educated people right now. The answer for some isn't more skills or education, but changing the way that they seek employment.
  
  In the 21st century, everyone basically has to constantly be on the look out for their next job.
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: Should degrees have "patches"?

  Aug 17 2012: 'Patches' already exist. They are called 'certificates' and 'advanced learning' programs. Basically, its a high priced shake-down from universities and institutions so that they can trap people in more debt after their university years are complete.
  
  I just finished paying for my Master degree - 8 years after completing the program. I am none to eager to take on more debt. If a company I am working for wants to pay for my continuing education - I'm for it. If I have to foot the bill, no thanks.
  
  IWe also have to realize that we can't educate ourselves out of ever scenario. If the sun doesn't shine, the answer is "more education".
  
  Damn, how much education do you think a human being needs before what they're learning needs to be backed by experience? Pretty soon you'll need a PhD to sweep floors. Sad. We're moving to a seriously over-educated society where that education means less and less in the job market.
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: Magnetizing Mars. Is This How We Could Do it?

  Aug 17 2012: Just a thought - even if we did create a magnetic field on Mars today, it would still be hundreds of thousands if not millions of years before an atmosphere on Mars formed. But perhaps we'd be shielded from the solar winds immediately.
  
  Also, we've never done planetary "sculpting" before. What if creating a magnetic field on Mars totally jacks up something important and unexpected (i.e. killing microbial life that already exists on Mars or unleashes a chemical or substance we don't know/understand yet)?
  
  I agree with the assertion that we should treat this planet better and respect our own Earth and its perfect magnetic field so that we don't have the necessity to create a magnetic field on Mars.
• +2

  A comment on Conversation: Does America have an unemployment crisis? If so, then how would you solve the unemployment crisis?

  Aug 17 2012: Yes, America does have an unemployment crisis. I do believe that there have been structural shifts to the economy to create more work for fewer people. However, people find jobs every day. There are plenty of jobs out there to be had. The problem is that people are in a scarcity mindset and are looking for jobs in all the wrong ways.
  
  There is a really good article in the NYTimes today about people who are long term unemployed in California. First, my heart goes out to these people. It must be emotionally difficult to be unemployed for such long periods of time.
  
  When people who are often unemployed long term tell their stories, they often say that they are sending out hundreds (sometimes thousands) of applications. I always think, "well that's the problem".
  
  They're often using 20th century methods to search for a 21st century job. The simple reality is that the vast majority of people find jobs through their networks. If you're applying for jobs in the newspaper, on Craigslist, or on Monster.com, you may as well buy a lotto ticket. You have about the same chance of hitting the Powerball as you do of landing a job.
  
  "What Color Is Your Parachute" by Richard Bolles does an excellent job of breaking down the 21st century job search process. Mr. Bolles basically says the same thing - you find jobs through your network and looking on the internet or in newspapers is a waste of time. By time a job is posted on the internet, there are hundreds if not thousands of people applying for the open job. You don't have a chance.
  
  The best time to build a network is when you really don't need anything. While you're working, you should be on Linked In, connecting with people on the regular in your profession, and keeping your ears to the ground. When you are laid off, put out the call to your network and get moving.
  
  Whatever you do, don't waste time applying for work on the internet. It feels proactive, but it is really a passive job search approach. Get out there and network!

• A comment on Conversation: Simple. Every person who votes gets a special lottery ticket making them eligible for a 100 or 200 million dollar prize; whatever it takes

  Aug 17 2012: Wow, I understand that the intention is good (getting more Americans to vote) but the method is a bit misguided.
  
  People should vote because they believe that it is their privilege to be part of a free society and their civic duty to protect that society by exercising their right to vote. It's especially difficult when people from groups that were previously denied this right (women and minorities) don't vote. How many blacks and women died or went to jail in the past to get the right to vote in elections?!?
  
  Offering a lottery will attract people who are voting only for a prize. I doubt if they will be as informed as people who vote because they are exercising their basic rights. These new voters won't be vested in the outcome.
  
  I don't know about you, but people who are not taking their right to vote seriously, I'd rather have them forgo voting rather than voting for a chance to win the lotto.
• +2

  A comment on Conversation: Give me one good reason why I should hire you.

  Aug 11 2012: Let me turn that question on it's head : Why should I work for you?
  
  I'm not a 'job beggar'. I bring great value to the position (you must agree - you wouldn't have advanced me this far in the interview process if you didn't see good potential). I'm someone who offers my skills, knowledge, intelligence, and enthusiasm to this position.
  
  So why should I work for you and give the best parts of myself for 10-12 hours each and every day? I could be spending time with friends and family or working to better humanity, but I am agreeing to give the best parts of myself to your organization and projects for what is all too often meager pay.
  
  Convince me why I should come in and work for you when I could be doing something much more fulfilling with the time that God has given me on this earth...
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: If you have the ability to free people, do you have a duty to do so?

  Aug 11 2012: You have to remember that in the 1980's the USA supported the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union. And look where that eventually lead.
  
  I would love to see a world where every person in every nation is free. But it isn't as simple as supporting rebel causes. Rebel groups can often be just as bad or worse than the current government (think the Taliban, the leftest groups in South America countries) so outing oppressive regime A may just leave a vacuum for repressive regime B.
  
  As far as western countries taking military action to remove repressive regimes, look where it lead to in Iraq. While Sadam was a monster, it's hard to say what direction the country is going in now and it created a power vacuum in the region that Iran and its repressive regime is comfortably stepping into.
  
  Sorry Stewart. No easy answers. No black or while. Only grey and more questions.
• +3

  A comment on Conversation: Why do people who have many advantages in life struggle with ongoing happiness whilst others with far less to be happy about are happier?

  Aug 10 2012: Well many people don't see what they have as "advantages". They see their lives as God given rights. Everything from a bed to sleep in at night to clean running water that you can drink without having it kill you is the way life is "supposed to be". Its hard to believe that for many billions of people in this world, their reality is quite different.
  
  What isn't acknowledged as a blessing soon becomes routine - or even worse a curse.
  
  The trick to being happy is being thankful for your blessings, no matter how 'small' they may seem. The fact that you woke up this morning is a blessing. Some people didn't make it though the night. If you had breakfast this morning, that's a blessing. Many people in this world woke up to nothing and for most of human history people lived in the edge of starvation.
  
  People are waiting to hit the powerball or some other unlikely circumstance to be happy and grateful. They think that a miracle has to happen for God to prove his favor. What they don't realize is that each day we wake up is a miracle and we are surrounded by miracles each and every day.