One of the participants in a workshop about post-PhD careers asked the question in the title.

We were talking about not knowing what jobs might suit us and the value of taking short-term contracts or taking jobs to try them out, knowing that we could move on in a year or two to something else.

My response was to ask her about her research.

“Have you ever tried something in your research that didn’t work out?” “Yes.”

“Could you have done the thing that didn’t work without doing the thing that didn’t work first?” “No.”

“Do you think the thing that didn’t work was a waste of time?” “No.”

“Why is it different for your career?”

Why trying stuff that doesn’t work out is not a waste of time

You learn something. Trying and failing is a legitimate way to learn.

It might be frustrating or disappointing but sometimes the only way to learn something is to try it out. In science we call this “experimentation”. It is useful in life, too. The drawback of avoiding things that might possibly end up being a waste of time, is that you limit yourself. There are limits on what you can know before you try things. If everything you do has to be a sure bet, you are going to miss out on a lot of potentially great things.

Furthermore, there are options available to you that you didn’t have when you started the-thing-that-didn’t-work-out.

Sometimes a job will surprise you.

Something you thought you would love turns out to make you miserable. Something you thought would be meh but you take because you need to pay the rent could turn out to be a really enjoyable and challenging job.

You can do research beforehand to find out but sometimes you have to get out of the theory and set up an experiment. Even if what you learn is not what you thought you’d learn.

Try stuff.

Edited 22 Sept, 2015.