"One of the nice things about operations management is that it is often just a mindset, a way of looking at things, and an attitude that makes a person competent.^[18] You should always be thinking about how to increase the efficiency of systems "
 

This mindset seems a strength that i believed was a weird quirk. I tend to notice and want to experiment ways to improve or automate systems. 
 

"I also want to note that one difficulty with learning this is understanding the applicability if you haven’t had relevant experiences... It is hard to understand how Six Sigma or Kanban or Queuing Theory might be useful without sufficient context."

This point helps me look at my past experiences in a more positive light. The years I worked in 3-6 month waterfall development projects seem inefficient and wasteful. We could have solved and prevented many more problems with SCRUM, ex better team collaboration, getting user feedback sooner and adapting to change. 

These experiences help me see the learning's potential more clear than I may have before experiencing the inneficincy of waterfall. 

I didn't undertand this article on the first read. I had trouble understanding and spent two days coming back to this article. I wasn't sure what was wrong. Did I not like the writing; is it too complicated; a topic I am not interested in?

After using ChatGPT to clarify parts of the articles I arrived at this conclusion: I believe the writing is too complicated for me to extract the author's message in a single reading. I expected the articles of Intro to EA to be easier to understand. 

I see the connection between beliefs and anticipation now but I am not sure if I fully understand this yet.

"If you start off disagreeing with someone then change your mind, that can be hard to admit, but we think that should be celebrated."

This is hard and scary to do depending on the situation. I am starting to notice more when I change my mind and how it feels.

Here's updated links to these tests:

IPIP-NEO

https://drj.virtualave.net/IPIP/index.html

HEXACO

https://survey.ucalgary.ca/jfe/form/SV_0icFBjWwyHvJOfA

Thank you for this post on how to acquire these skills and experience. I am considering transitioning to ops. I did not see many of my innate skills as skills until I started reading this post and some of the comments. I saw my strengths and skills as peculiar things, habits, personality traits (sometimes annoying to my friends, wife and kids ). This post is very empowering :)

I found your input valuable. Thank you!

I found the updated links:

IPIP-NEO

https://drj.virtualave.net/IPIP/index.html

HEXACO

https://survey.ucalgary.ca/jfe/form/SV_0icFBjWwyHvJOfA

I am researching my fit for operations. I found this article very helpful. The hiring process is a mystery to me and this article answered many of my questions about the hiring process. 

I sometimes wonder if I am a good fit for some roles and don't apply so I don't waste the hiring team's time. After reading your suggestions I will start to reach out to the hiring team to get more information. Reaching out might clear up my uncertainties when I  feel a role might be a good fit.

"Research suggests that certain groups in particular, e.g. women and ethnic minorities, are less likely to apply" This was a big surprise for me and I like the effort you put to eliminate bias.

Thank you for writing this article.

Im investigating ops to see if I am a good fit. Seems like I landed on a treasure chest of resources :) I will add this page to my growing list of resources. Thank you! 

Hi I am Richard. I live in the US. Moved to the US from the Dominican Republic in 1994. I am reading the career guide from 80,000 hours (starting chapter 8 today ). I have a systems/business analysis background. I want to use my career to do good in EA, extreme poverty and mental health. Looks like operations is the best path for me. Looking forward to meeting others in this space, learning more and contributing.

Very interesting. I enjoyed reading your thoughts on life here and there (loose reference to the "Now and Then, Here and There" anime. Our planet and life are very precious. Good meeting you :)