u/WBT67

TLDR: regular weight training is making me faster at my usual hobbies / these things more enjoyable

Mid 30s male, I’ve been physically active my whole life, but just doing stuff I enjoy: mountain biking, trail running, hiking, playing sports, etc. Never was disciplined, never deliberate, would just go out and do what I wanted. And I did it so much that I always won the calories in / calories out game. I was never out of shape but never really in shape

Over the last several years, I’ve added a busier career and a couple of kids and don’t have the time to be going out on these hours-long rides as often as I used to. But I can find 45 mins a day to pop into a gym a lift. And so that’s what I’ve been focused on for the last 3 months. I was skeptical at first but here’s what I’ve found:

- when I go out on rides / runs I’m now automatically just faster than I used to be, even from back when I was riding all the time.
- rides and runs are more enjoyable too. I just feel stronger doing these things
- to my surprise I enjoy lifting itself and look forward to gym time. It’s almost meditative and feels fulfilling afterwards

Now, to turn 3 months into 3 years and then 3 decades :)

Some free advice to consider for college students considering a career in data. Don’t worry about learning data in college, instead study economics, finance, business, etc and THEN:

Economic consulting firms like NERA, Cornerstone Research, Analysis Group, Compass Lexacon, etc will all hire analysts straight from undergraduate, no prior coding skills needed. The bar to get in isn’t “can you code” like other industries but rather “can you think critically and logically. And then you learn good data practices on the job while working on high profile commercial litigation work. Basically calculating the numbers you see in the newspaper “X company agrees to pay Y dollars in damages” using big data

Spend 2-4 years sharpening your data chops and then these firms have outstanding brand reputation at places like FAANG etc.

There’s lots of ways to get into data but this is one I don’t see talked about all that much

By the time we found out about it, they were gone. Super surprising they’d be gone already