• Emily Drabant Conley has worked for the personal-genetics startup 23andMe for nearly a decade.
• She started off running the startup's research and moved over to business development. Then, in 2015, at the age of 33, Conley got a big promotion to be vice president of business development. 
• To snag the role, she asked her boss for both the title and the autonomy, something she described as "a very pivotal moment in my own career trajectory." 
• We named Conley on our list of the 30 people under 40 who are transforming healthcare. Click here to see the full list.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Emily Drabant Conley was in a position that may sound familiar.

Conley works for the personal-genetics startup 23andMe. Four years ago, another employee was technically in charge of the company's business-development efforts.

But he didn't have the science background of Conley, who holds a doctorate in neuroscience from Stanford and joined the then small startup right after graduating in 2010. That left her "kind of doing all the work," she said, laughing. 

So she went to her boss, 23andMe cofounder and CEO Anne Wojcicki, and asked for a big promotion.

"I think that to traverse the career ladder the way I have at 23andMe is unusual, and hard to do, and the only way to do it is by advocating for yourself," said Conley, who has now worked at the company for nearly a decade.

Today, she's the vice president of business development. She negotiates partnerships with big drug companies like Genentech, Pfizer, and, last year, GlaxoSmithKline, that give them access to 23andMe data — with personal information removed — to find new targets for their drugs. She has also helped 23andMe raise money from investors. The startup is valued at $2.5 billion, according to PitchBook.

In recognition of the work Conley is doing in healthcare, Business Insider just named her one of the 30 young leaders transforming the industry.

Read more: Here's the full list of the young leaders who are transforming US healthcare

Here's how Conley asked for a big promotion, and her advice for others looking to do the same. 

'It can't just be because you want the bigger job'

Conley started at 23andMe when it was so small that "you get to do anything."

After being hired to run neuroscience research, her role morphed into business development when research inquiries from outside organizations got passed along to her.

That was the genesis of 23andMe's business-development department, and moving over to it was a natural evolution for Conley. She said the new role brought together her interests in business, science, and people. 

"I felt like this was exactly what I was meant to do," she said. 

Moving into the vice-president role was "a bigger jump" and required some petitioning. Going to her boss, Wojcicki, Conley was very candid about her reasons for the ask, saying that she was doing all the work and should have both the title and autonomy in the role, she said. 

Importantly, "it can't just be because you want the bigger job," she said. "You have to put yourself in the position of the company."

That means considering what's in the company's best interest and using that to make your best case, she said.

Identifying mentors to learn from

Conley also recommends finding mentors along the way. Wojcicki has been, and continues to be, an incredible mentor, she said.

Another key mentor: Ashley Dombkowski, 23andMe's onetime chief business officer and a longtime entrepreneur who now runs a consumer-focused company Before Brands.

"So finding people like that that you can really learn from. That's why I've stayed" at 23andMe, Conley said.

• Read more:
• Meet the 30 young leaders who are transforming the future of healthcare and disrupting a $3.5 trillion industry
• A coder who's using data to fight cancer shares the skills that helped her make the difficult switch from programmer to manager
• One of the biggest US health insurers created a new kind of job to make sure patients have enough to eat, and the change has already saved $4 million
• I tried 23andMe's new genetics test — and now I know why the company caused such a stir

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Animated map shows where American accents came from

• Cannabis-related job postings in the US have quadrupled in the past three years as more states legalize the drug, according to a new report from the job site Indeed.
• During the same time period, cannabis-related job searches increased 650%, indicated a huge demand for jobs in the brand new industry.
• See below for a list of who's hiring, and sign up for our new cannabis newsletter, Cultivated. 

Cannabis legalization is spreading around the US and job-seekers are highly interested in the brand-new industry, according to a new report from the employment-search firm Indeed.

Since 2016, cannabis-related job searches have skyrocketed 650%, according to Indeed economist Andrew Flowers. Over the same time period, the number of cannabis-related job postings has quadrupled, from 231 per million in May 2016 to 915 per million in May 2019.

"There are very few industries have seen a seven-fold increase in job seeker searches in three years," Flowers said in an interview. "Very few." 

Read more: From a master's in medical cannabis to a minor in weed, these are the college programs growing the next crop of marijuana entrepreneurs

In the past year alone, cannabis-related job postings have increased by 90%, according to Flowers. And if you want to land a gig in the booming industry, your best bet is probably in sales and retail.

The most common cannabis job posting on Indeed is for "budtender," which is a person who works at a dispensary and helps customers navigate the plethora of pot products. Coming in at number two is "sales associate" followed by "sales representative."

The second basket of popular cannabis jobs is all around the growing and cultivating of the crop itself, for positions like "grower," "trimmer," and "agriculture technician." And third, medical cannabis companies are hiring pharmacists and physicians to help research cannabis-based drugs and diagnose patients.

This year, Harvest has the most job openings among US cannabis companies, followed by Smoker's Choice, and Cresco Labs. On the cannabis-tech side, Weedmaps is hiring lots of data scientists and software engineers.

A quick scan of Harvest's job board shows hiring across divisions include sales, marketing, retail, and legal, meaning there is lots of opportunity for those with different skill sets to jump into the cannabis industry.

Cannabis is legal for adult use in 11 states and medically legal in 33 states. Illinois became the latest state to legalize earlier this year.

• Read more:
• 'It's a once in a decade opportunity': How top VC firms like Greycroft and Lerer Hippeau are cautiously opening their doors to the potentially $194 billion cannabis industry
• ELLO Capital, a boutique investment bank founded by JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Macquarie veterans, is chasing cannabis deals in the red-hot US market
• Curaleaf just snapped up Grassroots Cannabis for $875 million, making it the biggest cannabis retailer. We talked to Curaleaf's CEO about what's next.
• CBD and hemp startups are using creative loopholes to skirt Facebook's ad ban. Here's how they're doing it.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Animated map shows where American accents came from

• An increasing number of baby boomers— who have more debt than previous generations — are filing for bankruptcy, reported Patti Waldmeir for The Financial Times.
• Dwindling incomes, loss of pensions, and healthcare costs have created an economic cocktail driving the rise.
• Baby boomers' acceptance of debt is also playing a role — they're more inclined than their parents to take on credit card debt, and they carry student-loan debt.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Baby boomers' bank accounts have seen better days.

Those aged 65 and older have more debt than previous generations, and an increasing portion are filing for bankruptcy in hopes of relieving it, reported Patti Waldmeir for The Financial Times. 

Tara Siegel Bernard first reported on the trend last year for The New York Times, citing a study from the Consumer Bankruptcy Project: Since 1991, the rate of people 65 and older filing for bankruptcy has tripled, she wrote. The study looked at 895 personal bankruptcy cases and questionnaires from those aged 19 to 92.

"Older Americans are more likely than ever to find themselves in bankruptcy court, seeking protection from creditors," wrote the authors of the study. "Depending on their age cohort, their rate of bankruptcy has increased between 200 and 300 percent since 1991." 

It's due to a confluence of economic factors — including delayed full Social Security benefits, an increase in out-of-pocket medical spending, a rise in pensions replaced by 401(k) savings plans, and dwindling incomes — that have off-loaded of the costs of aging onto a generation with limited resources, according to the study. 

"Seniors are living longer and paying ever higher medical costs for the privilege of staying alive; many have little or no company pension and scant personal savings to fall back on," Waldmeir wrote.

In fact, 66.5% of all bankruptcies, regardless of age, are related to medical issues, either because of expensive medical bills or time away from work, reported Lorie Konish for CNBC, citing a study by the American Journal of Public Health. That study looked at court filings for a random sample of 910 Americans who filed for personal bankruptcy between 2013 and 2016, and found that 530,000 families file for bankruptcy every year for medical issues or bills.

Read more: A growing number of Americans over age 65 are filing for bankruptcy just to get by, and it could signal a larger problem in the US

Credit card and student-loan debt are fueling the bankruptcy fire

But baby boomers also face debt pressures that weren't around for previous generations.

Both Siegel Bernard and Waldmeir cited an additional factor that baby boomers' parents didn't have to contend with: student loans. Baby boomers carry student-loan debt either for themselves or for a loan they took on for a child or grandchild.

Recent research indicates that student-loan debt is driving many bankruptcies, regardless of age or generation. A full 32% of consumers filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy (liquidation bankruptcy) carry student-loan debt, according to a LendEDU study that analyzed 1,083 individual bankruptcy cases from Upsolve, a non-profit that helps low-income consumers file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

"The baby boomer attitude to debt has not turned out to be as frugal as you would think it would be, having parents who lived through the Depression," Kevin Leicht, head of the sociology department at the University of Illinois, told Waldmeir. "Partly it's because they have jobs that don't keep up with inflation and they might have to have five or six jobs to make ends meet."

The turn to bankruptcy is especially problematic considering that baby boomers are expected to live longer than previous generations and therefore need to save more money to get by in their later years.

Debt has already become a major presence in the lives of older people, like members of the silent generation, who are 74 to 95 years old today. According to Waldmeir's research, credit card debt among elders sharply increased — from 1989 to 2016, the percentage of Americans aged 75 or older in debt climbed from 5% to nearly 50%.

Read the full article at The Financial Times »

SEE ALSO: An astounding number of bankruptcies are being driven by student loan debt

DON'T MISS: Staggering medical bills are the biggest driver of personal bankruptcies in the US. Here's what you need to know if you're thinking about filing for bankruptcy.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Most hurricanes that hit the US come from the same exact spot in the world

• Taylor Swift admitted in an interview with Vogue that she didn't see sexism in her career when she was first getting started.
• Once she became ultra-successful, she saw it frequently.
• Unfortuantely, that's the norm for lots of successful women. The gender pay gap gets bigger at the top. Expectations for women in leadership are different. Melinda Gates predicts it will take another 208 years before women are fully considered equal. 
• "It's fine to infantilize a girl's success," Swift said. "But the second it becomes formidable? That wasn't cool anymore."

Taylor Swift made a bold admission in a recent Vogue interview. When she started her career, she was blind to sexism.

But as she became more successful, she began to see it everywhere.

This is not unique to one of the world's most successful singers. For many women in business, the higher you climb, the more you see.

The more successful you become, the more you realize that most women aren't able to make it to the top — not for lack of trying — and a lot of people like it that way.

That the system you thought supported you may only actually support you up to a point.

That the gender pay gap is real, and it only gets bigger.

That expectations for women in leadership are different.

And it could take 208 more years for women to be considered equal.

For Swift, this realization happened once she wrote songs that filled stadiums. 

"It's fine to infantilize a girl's success and say, "How cute that she's having some hit songs," Swift said.

"But the second it becomes formidable? As soon as I started playing stadiums — when I started to look like a woman — that wasn't cool anymore."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Kylie Jenner is the world's second highest-paid celebrity. Here's how she makes and spends her $1 billion.

• Some jobs pay you well, while others allow you to feel like your work makes a difference in the world. But these two things don't necessarily have to be mutually exclusive.
• Using data from PayScale, we found which majors led to jobs that paid well and where workers also felt like their work mattered.
• Most majors that lead to well-paid and satisfying jobs are engineering-related: Marine engineering, biomedical engineering, and aeronautical engineering top the list.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

There are jobs that pay you well. Then there are jobs that make a difference in peoples' lives while making you feel personally fulfilled. While many of us think these categories are mutually exclusive by necessity, they don't always have to be.

Using data from compensation platform PayScale's 2018 College Salary Report, we found which majors made workers feel like their work mattered and paid them handsomely. The report found average salaries as well as a "high meaning" rate — the percentage of college grads who say their work makes the world a better place — using worker surveys.

To determine which majors had both high job satisfaction and high salaries, we tallied the top 20 majors with an annual mid-career salary above $100,000 that also had a "high meaning" rate above 50%. 

Here are the majors to choose if you want to land a lucrative gig that'll pay you to change the world.

SEE ALSO: How much money 19 types of engineers actually make

DON'T MISS: The 50 best colleges for your money

20. Construction management majors have a mid-career salary of $100,400 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 58%.

Possible jobs with this major: Construction manager, building surveyor, sustainability consultant, building services engineer, fire risk assessor.

Early-career pay: $59,000

19. International economics majors have a mid-career salary of $105,900 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 59%.

Possible jobs with this major: Economist, foreign service officer, financial analyst, development associate, intelligence officer, legislative assistant.

Early career pay: $53,600

18. Astrophysics majors have a mid-career salary of $110,800 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 59%.

Possible jobs with this major: Software engineer, physics professor, database administrator, principal test engineer, astrophysicist.

Early career pay: $60,700

17. Electrical and electronics engineering (EEE) majors have a mid-career salary of $112,000 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 59%.

Possible jobs with this major: Control and instrumentation engineer, design engineer, electrical engineer, electronics engineer, IT consultant, network engineer.

Early career pay: $69,200

16. Nuclear engineering majors have a mid-career salary of $121,700 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 59%.

Possible jobs with this major: Electrical engineer, machinist mate, radiological engineer.

Early career pay: $70,700

15. Applied physics majors have a mid-career salary of $104,300 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 60%.

Possible jobs with this major: Nanotechnologist, physics professor, physicist.

Early career pay: $61,400

14. Petroleum engineering majors have a mid-career salary of $183,600 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 60%.

Possible jobs with this major: Information specialist, petroleum engineer.

Early career pay: $82,700

13. Evolution, ecology and biodiversity majors have a mid-career salary of $100,000 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 61%.

Possible jobs with this major: Veterinarian, pharmacist, environmental conservation, college professor.

Early career pay: $43,000

12. Construction project management majors have a mid-career salary of $106,200 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 61%.

Possible jobs with this major: Construction manager, quantity surveyor, site engineer, sustainability consultant.

Early career pay: $56,500

11. Metallurgical engineering majors have a mid-career salary of $111,100 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 61%.

Possible jobs with this major: Product engineer, research and development engineer, data architect.

Early career pay: $77,300

10. Agricultural engineering (AE) majors have a mid-career salary of $101,200 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 62%.

Possible jobs with this major: Agricultural and food scientist, environmental engineer, Hydrologist, conservation scientist.

Early career pay: $58,200

9. Bioengineering (BioE) majors have a mid-career salary of $107,000 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 63%.

Possible jobs with this major: Clinical engineer, biomedical engineer, orthopedic bioengineer.

Early career pay: $65,400

8. Mining engineering majors have a mid-career salary of $114,000 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 63%.

Possible jobs with this major: Geological engineer, geophysical engineer,
mineral engineer, mining safety engineer, seismic engineer.

Early career pay: $72,100

7. Civil engineering (CE) majors have a mid-career salary of $101,100 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 64%.

Possible jobs with this major: Consulting civil engineer, contracting civil engineer, design engineer, fire risk assessor, nuclear engineer, site engineer, structural engineer, water engineer.

Early career pay: $60,400

6. Electrical power engineering majors have a mid-career salary of $122,300 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 65%.

Possible jobs with this major: Power engineer, utilities engineer.

Early career pay: $71,300

5. Biochemistry and molecular biology majors have a mid-career salary of $103,400 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 67%.

Possible jobs with this major: Analytical chemist, biomedical scientist, biotechnologist, clinical research associate, forensic scientist, medicinal chemist.

Early career pay: $49,800

4. Structural engineering (SE) majors have a mid-career salary of $107,900 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 70%.

Possible jobs with this major: Architectural engineer, bridge engineer, construction engineer, facilities engineer, geotechnical engineer, highway engineer, hydrographic engineer, research hydraulic engineer, transportation engineer.

Early career pay: $62,400

3. Aeronautical engineering majors have a mid-career salary of $122,500 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 70%.

Possible jobs with this major: Commercial aerospace engineers, spacecraft designers, engineering, science and data processing managers, inspectors and compliance officers, mechanical engineers.

Early career pay: $67,900

2. Biomedical engineering (BME) majors have a mid-career salary of $110,300 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 71%.

Possible jobs with this major: Medicinal chemist, microbiologist, physician associate, biomedical scientist, biotechnologist, forensic scientist.

Early career pay: $66,000

1. Marine engineering majors have a mid-career salary of $126,500 a year and a "high meaning" rate of 73%.

Possible jobs with this major: Marine mechanical engineer, waterfront project engineer.

Early career pay: $72,600

• Amazon has grown from an online bookseller to a domineering tech giant since Jeff Bezos founded it in 1994.
• Even when Amazon was young, Bezos had an extraordinary vision for his company.
• Here are some of the most accurate predictions Bezos made 20 years ago, in 1999.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Twenty years ago, in 1999, Amazon was a 5-year-old kindergartner startup navigating the early ecommerce market.

But that didn't stop CEO Jeff Bezos from dreaming big. At the time, Amazon had just started to expand its offerings beyond books. But Bezos was already painting outlandish visions of his customer-first website becoming the one-stop marketplace for everything.

Fast-forward to today, and Bezos is the richest man in the world, worth more than $141 billion.

Here are eight predictions Bezos made in 1999 that are right on the money:

SEE ALSO: IPO WATCH: All the tech startups that have taken steps toward going public in 2019 — and those rumored to be thinking about it

"We want to try and build a place where people can come to find and discover anything that they might want to buy online," Bezos said in an appearance on Charlie Rose's talk show.

Bezos' vision in 1999 has become a reality. A 2018 poll conducted by NPR and Marist found that online shoppers were most likely to start on Amazon — even before going on a search engine like Google.

"Strip malls are history."

Thousands of storefronts in malls across the US have been closing in a "retail apocalypse," and a 2017 report from Credit Suisse estimated that 20% to 25% of malls would close in the next five years, indicating that there's still more truth to what Bezos told Wired.

Bezos predicted that physical storefronts would survive only if they could provide at least one of two core features: entertainment value or immediate convenience.

Bezos told Wired that entertainment value is why places like movie theaters won't die.

"That experience is what you get when you go to movie theaters, and why you don't always rent movies, right?" he said.

Many malls and retailers have looked at these two paths to stay relevant, with some offering high-tech experiences to get customers into their brick-and-mortar locations.

Meanwhile, Bezos wanted a piece of that immediate convenience for Amazon, spurring it to buy Whole Foods and experiment with other physical retail stores.

Wired described Bezos' vision as being able to "take care of the last mile of delivery yourself at any time."

"I'm a big believer in this notion of sort of appliances, that there'll be lots of little things that are connected to the internet ... There'll be a whole bunch of things sort of connected to the network."

It seems as if Bezos predicted the smart home in 1999. Amazon now offers numerous Alexa-enabled smart-home devices, such as Echo speakers, plugs, clocks, microwaves, and home security systems.

In 1999, Amazon and Barnes & Noble were seen as direct competitors in the book-selling business. "I bet you a year from now they will not consider us direct competitors," Bezos told Wired. "Clearly they do today, but we're on different paths ... We're trying to invent the future of e-commerce, and they're just defending their turf."

While Barnes & Noble has largely remained a bookstore, Amazon counts books as just one product in its ever-growing marketplace. Perhaps in the early days of e-readers the two brands were seen as direct competitors, but Amazon's Kindle has greatly outpaced Barnes & Noble's Nook.

"Advertising is also a very valid model on the 'net. They're going to be able to make their ads more meaningful to customers by better targeting your ads, something that's hard to do in broadcast."

Personalized ads, using data from a person's search and shopping histories, are common today. And as live-TV consumption continues to decline, money is increasingly being put into digital advertising.

As of late 2018, Amazon was on track to become the third-largest digital advertiser in the US, behind Google and Facebook.

"There's nothing more frustrating than having to wait two minutes for your computer to boot up ... By the time I've waited the two minutes, I've forgotten what I was going to do. So that's I think a very important technology. And people are working on it. That one's going to happen sometime."

Bezos mentioned in several interviews in 1999 his gripe with long waits to start up his computer.

In an interview with Charlie Rose, Bezos said computers would soon be equipped with what he referred to as "instant on."

Now, with smartphones that give you answers in the palm of your hand and laptops that don't need to be turned off after each use, it seems Bezos nailed that one. Technology has never been so readily accessible.

Wired's 1999 profile outlined the Amazon CEO's vision for 2020: "The vast bulk of store-bought goods — food staples, paper products, cleaning supplies, and the like — you will order electronically. "

While "vast bulk" may be an overstatement, online shopping has skyrocketed. Amazon has become a favorite for buying everyday essentials and household products, especially with offerings designed to streamline ordering these products, like subscriptions, voice-activated shopping via Alexa, and Prime Pantry.

But not every one of Bezos' predictions has been wholly accurate.

Bezos discussed Amazon's use of customer data in an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes."

In the segment, the reporter Bob Simon said this startling line: "Bezos refuses to rule out selling the valuable information to other companies in the future. But he doesn't think his customers are concerned about the issue."

• Working from home can save you thousands of dollars each year.
• Some of the biggest savings come from cooking at home, not having to buy dress clothes, and not spending money on commuting.
• Costs of working from home include using your own internet and electricity — and navigating a new type of work-life balance.
• I've been working from home for nine years, and it's helped me save about $3,400 per year, or more than $30,000.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

After working in the entertainment industry for a number of years, I switched to writing full time in my late 20s. I have been a self-employed writer for nine years now, working from home five days a week.

At first, adjusting to self-employment came with plenty of struggles. There was the process of getting myself on a manageable schedule, the balancing of the home as both my residence and my workplace, and of course there was the hustle to find enough work to make my new arrangement worthwhile.

One thing I appreciated right from the start, though, was the money I saved by using my home as my workplace. Assuming you are a remote employee, or that as self-employed professional you have already factored in costs traditionally covered by employers, like insurance benefits and paid time off, working from home can markedly cut your expenses.

I estimate that working from home saves me $3,389.30 a year. That comes out to an astonishing $30,504 for the full nine years I've been working remotely.

Read on to see how those savings break down.

SEE ALSO: I've been working from home for 9 years — here are my best productivity hacks that will keep you organized and on task

DON'T MISS: I'm in my 30s, and I've completely changed my mind about 5 things since I was in my 20s

I've saved more than $15,700 just by making my lunches at home for nine years.

Back in the day, I'd often eat a quick microwave meal at my desk when there was just too much work to get done. Other days, I would go out with friends for a meal that could easily add up to $20.

These days, I make my lunches at home — usually a sandwich, a salad, or the occasional plate of pasta and meatballs, because, hey, who's going to stop me? I'm in my own kitchen.

I calculate that my lunches made at home cost an average of $3 daily, or $15 weekly. Assuming two workplace desk lunches at $3.99 each and three out-of-office meals at $14 each, I was spending about $2,499 per year on lunch, assuming a 50-week work year.

At $3 daily, I am spending about $750 a year on workweek lunch. So that's $1,749 staying in the bank.

I don't commute to work anymore, which saves me about $860 on gas every year, or close to $8,000.

It's plain to see that commuting fuel was a huge expense from my budget that I have totally cut.

When I commuted to the office, my round-trip drive was about 32 miles. That adds up to 8,000 miles a year (I'm using a 50-week estimate, because vacations exist).

Using current gas prices and an estimate of 25 miles a gallon, I came up with a total of $860.80 for those 8,000 miles each year. That comes out to $7,747 saved annually.

I no longer have to buy dress shirts and slacks for work, so I've saved almost $600 on clothing every year.

The last office I worked in had a semi-formal dress policy, so I wore button-down shirts daily and ties many days a week (though, truth be told, I slid toward the casual side after a few years).

If your office has a dress code that necessitates buying any type of clothing you wouldn't normally use, working from home can save you a decent chunk of change on apparel.

Assuming I would buy four new dress shirts, three pairs of slacks, and three ties each year, I estimate a savings of $580 a year on dress clothes, using J. Crew as my reference, because that has long been my go-to for such clothing.

Now that I make my coffee at home, I've saved about $120 every year.

I never spent that much on coffee, as my office always had plenty of pots going. But I did grab a latte with lunch or once in a while on the way to work, so let's be conservative and call it $3.99 a week, or $199.50 a year.

Now, I spend about 30 cents a day on my two home-brewed cups of coffee, or $1.50 weekly. That's $75 a year, or a $124.50 savings. If you get a cup of coffee at $3.99 daily, you could save hundreds by making your own coffee at home.

And I've saved $75 a year on data overage charges because I'm always connected to my home's internet.

As my phone is always connected to my home's Wi-Fi, I'm almost never using data, and never doing so for work unless I'm on a trip.

In fact, in all my years of working from home, I have only gone over my Verizon data plan three times, and all of them occurred while I was overseas.

Assuming a modest five times of going over, I would pay $75 in annual fees, as Verizon charges $15 per overage. Instead, most years, I pay nothing, as I never come close to using all of it.

• Read more:
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• I was a PC die-hard for most of my life, but I now own Apple products across the board. Here's why I made the change and stuck with it

• Bill Gates, Sheryl Sandberg, Mark Zuckerberg, and other leaders have been asked the same question in interviews time and time again: "What advice would you give to your younger self?"
• Business Insider has gathered our favorite quotes from successful leaders, pulled from interviews conducted over the years and quotes compiled by a marketing campaign from the company AdView.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
•  

The people we've come to associate with the most successful technology companies were once relatively unknown names with big dreams. So if they could do it all over again, would they do it any differently?

The answer to this commonly-asked interview question tells us what we want to learn from the people who have, in our eyes, "made it." And leaders in the tech industry are successful because they created something — or saw potential in something — in a way that no one else did. The advice they would give their younger selves, then, is often informative and motivational. 

Digital advertising company AdView compiled quotes from across the internet to create these inspirational posters for a series called "What Would You Tell Your Teenage Self?" We found our favorites and pulled a few others from various interviews over the years from the leaders and executives at companies like Apple, Facebook, Intel, Pandora, Airbnb, and more.

Here's the advice these 16 leaders in the tech industry told interviewers they would tell their younger selves:

SEE ALSO: 8 predictions made by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos 20 years ago that were right on the money

"Smartness is not single dimensional and not quite as important as I thought it was back then."

In Bill Gates' Reddit AMA from 2017, user UncomfortableChuckle asked "If you could give 19 year old Bill Gates some advice, what would it be?"

The second richest man in the world — behind Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos — responded:

"I would explain that smartness is not single dimensional and not quite as important as I thought it was back then. I would say you might explore the developing world before you get into your forties. I wasn't very good socially back then but I am not sure there is advice that would fix that - maybe I had to be awkward and just grow up...."

"Find work you love. Believe you can do anything. There is no straight path to where you are going."

The question was posed by a Quora user, and Sandberg took the time to lay out a detailed response, in the form of three pieces of advice instead of just one.

1. Find work you love. When you believe in what you are doing, you can combine passion with contribution - and that is a true gift. Keep trying and you will find what you love to do… and once you do, you will crush it.
2. Believe you can do anything. This is important for everyone and especially for women. Don't let anyone tell you can't have both a meaningful professional career and a fulfilling personal life. When you hear someone say you can't do something, know that you can and start figuring out how. Ask yourself, "What would I do if I weren't afraid?"
3. There is no straight path to where you are going. If you try to draw that line you will not just get it wrong, but you will miss big opportunities. As Pattie Sellers of Fortune Magazine says, careers are not ladders but jungle gyms. You don't have to have it all figured out. I recommend adopting two concurrent goals.

"A healthier lifestyle ultimately makes me more creative and allows me to think more cohesively."

That was Dorsey's simple response when Y Combinator interviewed the Twitter CEO in 2016.

"When I was young I didn’t understand the value of exercise or health and how that affected my intellect," he said. "I think it was useful for me to go to all the extremes to find the balance I have now, but I wish I focused more on being healthier in the past. A healthier lifestyle ultimately makes me more creative and allows me to think more cohesively."

"You're going to make mistakes no matter what you do. People spend a lot of time focusing on not making mistakes or regretting them but you shouldn't strive to be right about everything."

Zuckerberg answered the question during a 2015 user Q&A that Facebook livestreamed.

"Before getting swept up in the competitors that define so much of life, ask yourself whether you even want the prize on offer."

He told conservative student magazine Intercollegiate Review this during an interview back in 2015.

"The joy is in the journey."

Cook has said this multiple times — during a commencement speech for Auburn, for example — but most recently said it in March in response to a question from the audience after an in-person interview

"No matter what you choose, build stuff and be around smart people. 'Stuff' can be a lot of different things ... but, obviously, sitting around talking with your friends about how you guys really should build a website together does not count."

Here is Altman's whole response:

"Usually, people are deciding between going to college (and usually working on side projects while they do so), joining a company, or starting their own startup. The secret is that any of these can be right answer, and you should make your decision based on the specific circumstances of each option.

"The critical point is that you want to do the thing that is most likely to get you on a path to do something great. No matter what you choose, build stuff and be around smart people. 'Stuff' can be a lot of different things — open source projects outside of class, a startup, a new sales process at a company you work at — but, obviously, sitting around talking with your friends about how you guys really should build a website together does not count."

"Be unapologetically true to yourself, both in business and in life in general ... if you do, and broadcast that to the world, over time, the right people will find you."

The entrepreneur responded to an email from show host Shivad Singh, who was compiling answers from "the world's most successful people."

"Problems happen. Plans fail. Don't be disheartened when things don't go as you'd hoped."

"It's very easy — in life or in work — to overreact, to think that problems indicate that you are incapable, or that the project you've undertaken is doomed to failure," he said.

Rosenstein also added:

"But almost any undertaking involves a steady stream of unforeseen difficulties and mistakes. The key is to not freak out; just calmly deal with each problem, one at a time, until you achieve your desired outcome, or feel inspired to choose a new one. With experience, you will learn to see the bigger picture, less fazed by life's ups and downs."

"Enjoy failing fast rather than spending so much time figuring out how to be perfect, or even worse, being paralyzed by fear of being perfect."

Source: Head Start

"Take the next step."

Source: Head Start

"Never see being different as a flaw or think that something is wrong with you. Being different is your biggest asset and will help you succeed."

This is an excerpt from a letter entitled "My letter to my younger dyslexic self," published to Virgin's website.

"It gets better ... it's important to learn new things and expand your horizons."

According to this response to Forbes, Spolsky was referring to an anthropology class he took in college to fulfill a required credit.

He said it was boring at the time, but it taught him a lot about making companies that are based on and driven by helping people.

"Whether it is a change of job, or an entrepreneurial dream, the less you need to spend each month, the easier it is to follow those dreams."

Wales told Fast Company:

"I think one of the things that most 21-year-old people should do is to recognize now that you can make life choices which control your expenses, and that controlling your expenses is one of the most crucial steps toward the kind of financial independence that you need in order to follow your dreams in the future."

His favorite rule of thumb for this piece of advice? Never go into debt to finance anything luxurious. Only do it for necessary investments like education.

"'No' is often just the starting point."

"And most careers worth having involve a fair amount of determination, grit, and just general 'try try again'-ing," she added.

"Be okay with things building up over time."

Mullenweg told Product Hunt:

"Something I didn’t appreciate until recently is that there any many productive decades ahead with which to build the things that I feel need to exist in the world. One of the best things I did then was avoid any press or capitalization on my age (to the extent I could) because youth is an ephemeral asset and just a novelty in business."

"Be sure to ‘notice’ ideas when you have them. Stop. Take the time to consider them seriously. And if your gut tells you they’re compelling, be fearless in their pursuit."

"For most people," he continued in his response to Forbes, "the idea of chasing a personal passion or being entrepreneurial is simply something they don’t think of themselves doing. We’re so programmed to walk well-trodden paths. But, we live life only once. So, rather than avoiding the risk of trying, avoid the risk of not trying. Nothing is more haunting than thinking, 'I wish I had...'."

"It’s not about building every feature or understanding everything the first time around. It’s about creating the best, tailored experience for your community and company."

Ljung said that when he makes decisions around leadership, design, and product, he often references a quote that T.S. Eliot had reportedly used: "If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter."

• Americans spend 35% of their vacation days on other peoples' holidays — and a majority of them would rather spend the days on themselves, according to a new survey. 
• Only a fifth of respondents said they were "okay with using earned vacation time for other people's events."
• Americans already take less vacation than other developed nations. Vacation can even cause burnout, as nearly a fourth of employees find it harder to work when their coworkers take a break. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

In most cases, your close friends will opt to take a day or two off work to celebrate your bachelorette weekend — but they may not be happy about it.

In fact, Americans spend about 35% of their time off to celebrate other peoples' milestones, according to a new survey from London-based research firm Mortar for the travel company Flash Pack.

The survey found Americans average 10 vacation days a year, if provided by private companies (as the US is the only wealthy nation that does not guarantee days off). Of those 10 days, people spend 3.5 of them going to other peoples' weddings, birthdays, baby showers — pretty much any planned event that's not their own.

The survey comprised of 1,000 responses from men and women of all ages, income brackets, and US regions. 

Millennials, in particular, give up more vacation days for other people — 61% of people ages 25 to 44 said they attended up to 10 local weddings in the last three years. 

While spending time with loved ones seems like a valuable time commitment, 80% of all the people surveyed said they would rather spend their days off on themselves. Only a fifth of respondents said they were "okay with using earned vacation time for other people's events."

"In a life that's already bursting at the seams, you're frittering away all your spare time and money on other people's dream," Flash Pack co-founder Lee Thompson said in a statement.

Vacationing in America is proving to be more stressful than one would expect. Americans are notoriously bad at taking vacation when compared to other developed nations: a recent survey by pollster Gallup found three in 10 workers did not go on vacation in 2017.

Vacation can even cause stress. A survey conducted by Business Insider and LinkedIn recently found that 23% of professionals feel burned out when their coworkers are on vacation.

And since the US does not guarantee vacation, some employees have to choose between a day off and a paycheck: 25% of private companies do not give paid vacation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For workers in the "gig economy" who are treated like independent contractors, they have even fewer options for time off. 

SEE ALSO: Your vacation is stressing out your millennial coworkers, and social media is only making it worse

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NOW WATCH: Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian have a combined net worth of $189 million. Here's how they make and spend their money.

• Hate math? Don't worry, you can still make bank.
• There are plenty of high-paying jobs you can pursue that don't require a head for numbers.
• Judges, acupuncturists, and elevator repairers are just a few occupations that the math-averse can take up.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Did you dread math class as a kid? If so, that feeling probably didn't go away, and you're likely not too keen on the idea of doing math as a career.

Luckily, there are plenty of high-paying jobs for those who can't stand the thought of crunching numbers and sifting through data all day.

We combed through the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), a US Department of Labor database that compiles detailed information on hundreds of occupations, to find positions with a median annual salary of over $70,000 that don't require heavy math skills.

O*NET ranks how important "using mathematics to solve problems" is in any job, assigning each a "math importance level" between 1 and 100. Math-centric positions, such as mathematicians and statisticians, rank between 90 and 100 on the spectrum, while jobs such as massage therapists and actors are under 10.

Here are the highest-paying positions with a math importance level of 31 or less.

SEE ALSO: 16 high-paying jobs for artistic people

22. Diagnostic medical sonographer

Median salary:$73,860

Math importance level: 28

Sonographers produce ultrasonic recordings of internal organs for use by physicians.

21. Transportation vehicle, equipment, and systems inspector

Median salary: $75,330

Math importance level: 25

Inspectors are in charge of inspecting and monitoring transportation equipment, vehicles, and/or systems to ensure that they comply with regulations and safety standards.

20. Library-science teacher, postsecondary

Median salary:$75,450

Math importance level: 28

These professors teach courses in library science at the university or graduate level. The title includes teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

19. Technical writer

Median salary: $75,500

Math importance level: 16

These writers create technical materials, such as equipment manuals, appendices, or operating and maintenance instructions. Writers may also assist in laying out the publications.

18. Dental hygienist

Median salary:$75,500

Math importance level: 22

Hygienists clean teeth and examine oral areas and the head and neck for signs of disease. They may also educate patients on oral hygiene, take and develop X-rays, and apply fluoride or sealants.

17. Ship engineer

Median salary: $75,710

Math importance level: 28

These engineers supervise and coordinate activities of crews engaged in operating and maintaining engines, boilers, deck machinery, and electrical, sanitary, and refrigeration equipment aboard a ship.

16. Power plant operator

Median salary: $78,030

Math importance level: 28

Operators control and maintain machinery to generate electric power. This title also includes auxiliary-equipment operators.

15. Elevators installer and repairer

Median salary: $79,370

Math importance level: 22

These workers assemble, install, repair, or maintain electric or hydraulic freight or passenger elevators, escalators, or dumbwaiters.

14. Stage, motion picture, television, and radio director

Median salary: $81,610

Math importance level: 28

Directors interpret scripts, conduct rehearsals, and direct activities of cast and technical crew for stage, motion pictures, television, or radio programs.

13. Philosophy and religion teacher, postsecondary

Median salary:$82,420

Math importance level: 25

These professors teach courses in philosophy, religion, and theology at the university or graduate level. The title includes teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

12. Sociology teacher, postsecondary

Median salary: $83,310

Math importance level: 28

These professors teach courses in sociology at the university or graduate level. The title includes teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

11. History teacher, postsecondary

Median salary: $83,990

Math importance level: 28

These professors teach courses in human history and historiography. The title includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

10. Occupational therapist

Median salary: $85,350

Math importance level: 28

OTs assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that help build or restore vocational, homemaking, and daily-living skills, as well as general independence, to people with disabilities or developmental delays.

9. Area, ethnic, and cultural studies teacher, postsecondary

Median salary: $85,450

Math importance level: 25

These professors teach courses pertaining to the culture and development of an area, an ethnic group, or any other group, such as Latin American studies, women's studies, or urban affairs. The title includes teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

8. Clinical psychologist

Median salary: $86,600

Math importance level: 31

Psychologists diagnose or evaluate mental and emotional disorders of people through observations, interviews, and psychological tests. They then formulate and administer programs of treatment.

7. Political science teacher, postsecondary

Median salary: $99,480

Math importance level: 25

These professors teach courses in political science, international affairs, and international relations. The title includes teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

6. Nurse midwife

Median salary:$106,910

Math importance level: 31

Nurse midwives typically diagnose and coordinate all aspects of the birthing process, either independently or as part of a healthcare team.

5. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates

Median salary: $121,130

Math importance level: 28

Judges arbitrate, advise, adjudicate, or administer justice in a court of law. They may sentence a defendant in criminal cases according to government statutes or sentencing guidelines, determine liability of a defendant in civil cases, and perform wedding ceremonies.

4. Law teacher, postsecondary

Median salary: $130,710

Math importance level: 25

Law professors teach courses in law at a university or graduate level. This title includes those primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

3. Lawyer

Median salary:$144,230

Math importance level: 28

Lawyers represent clients in criminal and civil litigation and other legal proceedings, draw up legal documents, or manage or advise clients on legal transactions.

2. Pediatrician

Median salary: $183,240

Math importance level: 31

Pediatricians are physicians who diagnose, treat, and help prevent children's diseases and injuries.

1. Orthodontist

Median salary:$225,760

Math importance level: 31

Orthodontists examine, diagnose, and treat dental misalignments and oral-cavity anomalies.

• Read more:
• 8 simple math tricks that will make your life easier, even if you don't like numbers
• 26 high-paying jobs for people who hate science
• 43 high-paying jobs for people who don't like stress
• These high-paying tech jobs only require 3 years of experience or less — and some of them pay six-figure salaries

• America's student-loan debt crisis is hurting women more than men.
• Women carry more than half of the nation's $1.7 trillion student-loan debt— and it takes them longer to pay it off because of the gender pay gap.
• Women also feel worse about their student-loan debt: they're more stressed by it and less likely to know how to repay it.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The student-loan debt crisis is hurting many Americans — but it's hitting women particularly hard.

As the cost of college continues to climb, so too does the nation's student-loan debt total, which currently sits at $1.5 trillion. Women hold the majority (two-thirds) of that total, according to the American Association of University Women.

While that finding is influenced by the fact that more than half of women have bachelor degrees compared to men, the gender pay gap is also at play. Women earn less than men in the workforce, which means it takes them longer to pay off their student-loan debt. This gives interest more time to accrue, further widening the debt load.

Read more: 10 mind-blowing facts that show just how dire the student-loan crisis in America is

Women also typically graduate with more student-loan debt than men, and studies have shown that women are more stressed by their debt levels and less likely to understand how to pay it off.

These nine startling facts show just how great of a burden student-loan debt is for women compared to men.

SEE ALSO: 8 startling facts that show just how hard the student-debt crisis is hurting black Americans

DON'T MISS: 10 mind-blowing facts that show just how dire the student-loan crisis in America is

1. Women graduate with $2,700 more student debt than men.

While women earn 57% of bachelor's degrees in the US, they hold two-thirds of the country's outstanding student debt, according to a recent report by the American Association of University Women.

2. Around 37% of women reported not having the same understanding of how to pay off student loans, as compared to 20% of men.

The survey used 1,000 online responses from college-educated adults between January 31 and February 11, 2019. Student loan refinancing company Laurel Road conducted the study. 

Women also reported being more interested in free personal finance courses than a free month's rent than men were, the survey found. 

3. Women are more than twice as likely as men to deem their student-loan debt unmanageable.

According to a Student Loan Hero report, 28% of women with student loan debt said it was "not at all manageable," compared to 13% of men. The survey included responses from 1,776 adults.

It also found that women were less likely to have heard of student loan refinancing. Of those who were aware of it, men were more likely than women to have refinanced their student loans.

4. 12 years after entering college, white women pay off just 28% of their student debt, while white men pay off 44% of their loans.

Black women borrowers, in contrast, see their loan balances grow by 13% on average 12 years after entering school, according to Demos.

5. While the average amount of debt for women amounts to $21,619, the average amount of debt for black women exceeds $30,000.

About 57% of black women reported that they had been unable to meet essential expenses within the past year due to student-loan repayment, according to the American Association of University Women (AAUW).

6. Women are twice as likely to attend for-profit colleges, which cost more and have lower 'quality' degrees.

For-profit colleges attract more women in part by offering convenient class structures for single moms, but "often the quality of the degree the student ends up getting, if they even finish, is much lower in a for-profit college, so their ability to pay back a loan is going to be more difficult," Barbara Gault, vice president and executive director of the Institute for Women's Policy Research, told The Chronicle of Higher Education.

7. Women today borrow more than they did in the '90s.

Women in the class of 2012 owe more of the total student debt than their counterparts in the class of 1993, according to the Pew Research Center.

8. Women earn 27% less than their male peers in the workforce, which means it takes them longer to pay off their student loans.

Since it takes them longer to repay student loans, they accrue more interest and increase their debt load, reported Annie Nova for CNBC. Men repay 13% of their student-loan debt annually, compared to 10% of women, she wrote, citing AAUW.

9. Parents of all boys are more likely to save money for college than parents of all girls.

That's according to a survey from asset-management company T. Rowe Price, reported Maria Lamagna for MarketWatch. The survey included 1,000 parents — 238 had only boys and 155 had only girls. 

About half of parents who have only boys have started a college fund for them, compared to 39% of parents who have only girls, the survey found.

• When the newspaper that journalist Emily Guendelsberger worked at closed, she decided to immerse herself in the type of work that makes up almost half of the American workforce: low-wage hourly jobs.
• Guendelsberger traveled the US and worked at an Amazon warehouse, a call center, and a McDonald's. She found a structure that still needed human labor but demanded that those humans act like robots.
• The following is an excerpt from her new book, "On the Clock: What Low-Wage Work Did to Me and How It Drives America Insane." She describes the jobs she held and the pressure that she found in each.
• Guendelsberger has worked at Philadelphia City Paper, the Onion's A.V. Club, Philadelphia Weekly, and the Philadelphia Daily News. She's contributed to the Philadelphia Inquirer, The Washington Post, Politico, and Vice.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

As a culture, we put far too much blind trust in data and technology.* Math and logic are beautiful languages. But it's so pretentious to pretend that they have adequate vocabulary to accurately describe a human, much less whether a human is happy or miserable. Our brains are the most complicated things in the known universe, with a hundred billion neurons making connections in a mind-bogglingly complex web that constantly changes. Our levels of technology aren't remotely close to being able to accurately describe that mess, and they won't be for a very long time.† Numbers and statistics just aren't up to communicating how something feels, even though that's often extremely important information.

That's why I decided to go experience this brave new world myself — so readers can get an idea of what the modern experience of low-wage work feels like. I went to work at an Amazon warehouse, a call center, and a McDonald's — three places that are fairly representative of the future of work in America. I spent between one and two months at each, and I worked them for real, with every ounce of my Dad-infused work ethic. And at each one, productivity-enforcing technology constantly corralled me and my coworkers into the weeds like a sheepdog snapping at a herd's heels.

Working in an Amazon warehouse outside Louisville, Kentucky, I walked up to 16 miles a day to keep up with the rate at which I was supposed to pick orders. A GPS-enabled scanner tracked my movements and constantly informed me how many seconds I had left to complete my task.

Read more: At a Google team off-site, we were asked to play a personality game that clearly revealed why it's so hard for women to reach the top

Working at a call center in western North Carolina, I was lectured about how using the bathroom too often is the same thing as stealing from the company, and had the minutes I spent in the bathroom tracked in a daily report sent to my supervisor.

Working at a McDonald's in downtown San Francisco, we were underscheduled to the point of a constant, never-ending line of customers — everyone worked at the frantic speed of those in-the-weeds waitresses of my youth all shift, nearly every shift.

I did plenty of research beforehand, and I'd heard crazy things about how stressful each job would be — each in its own special way, like Tolstoy's unhappy families. But at each of them, technology made it impossible to escape the weeds. And every time, my thorough research totally failed to prepare me for how dehumanizing the job felt.

We're at a strange point in the history of work. Automation of most jobs is only a decade or two away, and human workers increasingly have to compete with computers, algorithms, and robots that never get tired, or sick, or depressed, or need a day off.

Still, in industries that rely on skills that robots still aren't great at — fine motor control, speech and pattern recognition, empathy — the cheapest option is still low-wage human workers. And so many employers demand a workforce that can think, talk, feel, and pick stuff up like humans — but with as few needs outside of work as robots. They insist their workers amputate the messy human bits of themselves — family, hunger, thirst, emotions, the need to make rent, sickness, fatigue, boredom, depression, traffic — or at least keep them completely at bay.

I call these cyborg jobs — I have to have something to use as shorthand — and they make up an increasing slice of the American labor market, including most of the postrecession job growth. With labor power crippled by the last few decades of US policy, low-wage workers today have a strong, bordering-on-mandatory incentive to crush those unuseful human parts of themselves down to atomic size. And the pressure's starting to reach unmanageable levels.

Read more: I'm a wife and mother who works from home. My family acts like I don't have a job, and I'm tired of it.

How many cyborg jobs are there? It's hard to get good numbers on something that vague, but the statistic I find most convincing comes from a 2013 paper out of Oxford University. The authors tried to calculate how many and what kinds of jobs were so highly routinized that it'd be very easy to replace their human workers with computers or robots — that is, "occupations mainly consisting of tasks following well-defined procedures that can easily be performed by sophisticated algorithms."

They concluded these employed about 47% of the US workforce. So what does "in the weeds" mean to you?

To people with education and influence, "in the weeds" is something academic, about small, unimportant details. It's the footnotes. It's something you observe from the outside.

To everybody else, "in the weeds" is something you experience. It's something you feel. It's your life.

It's easy to make fun of that righteously indignant teenager at her first job. Readers to whom this all seems obvious may find the adult me just as naive. I was shocked by the pain-medication vending machines at Amazon, for example, while people familiar with warehousing work might roll their eyes. That's fine. For you, my book may be useful as an exploration of how much better people have it on the other side. Because every white-collar person I've mentioned those vending machines to was just as horrified — and they wouldn't put up with any of this for a second.

* Nothing wrong with those things, of course! By the time I started scooping ice cream, I'd maxed out the math classes at my high school, and I've always found the tidiness of problem sets to be a bit of a relief compared to the chaos of things like writing and makeouts and . . . you know, life.

† I'm married to a neuroscientist, and the number of things about the brain where the scientific consensus is still ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ is astonishing.

Excerpted from ON THE CLOCK. Copyright © 2019 by Emily Guendelsberger. Used with permission of Little, Brown and Company, New York. All rights reserved.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Stewart Butterfield, co-founder of Slack and Flickr, says 2 beliefs have brought him the greatest success in life

• Some jobs actually pay less than what you might expect, even if that position requires a master's degree. 
• Surgical technologists, therapists, biomedical engineers, psychologists, and chemists all have surprisingly low salaries despite the medical and science training they all need. 
• Although graphic designers and web designers work in tech, their salary is less than what you would expect. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

It's probably safe to say that one of the main reasons people go to college is to find a fulfilling, high-paying job when they're done.

But, as it turns out, a college education and a prestigious job title do not necessarily mean you'll be raking in cash.

Some gigs, like architect or optometrist, actually pay below what some might expect.

Using data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on the mean salary of full-time civilian workers, we've picked out some of the most prestigious jobs that have surprisingly low earnings. We're not saying they're all "low-paying jobs" — but rather that they pay less than you might think.

Here are 20 of them.

Max Nisen and Aaron Taube contributed to earlier versions of this article.

SEE ALSO: People with these 20 jobs got the biggest pay raises over the past 12 months

Optometrist

Average annual earnings: $119,980

Job description: They diagnose, manage, and treat conditions and diseases of the human eye and visual system, but make just a fraction as much as some other medical professionals. For comparison, the average pediatrician earns $175,400 a year, and dentists, who undergo a similar amount of training, earn $170,940.

Educational requirements: A bachelor's degree is required, followed by a four-year stint in optometry school to earn an OD. A residency sometimes follows that for those who want to pursue a particular specialty.

Biomedical engineer

Average annual earnings: $95,090

Job description: These engineers work on building solutions for problems in biology and medicine.

Educational requirements: Some undergraduate programs offer degrees in biomedical or biomechanical engineering, but other paths include a more general engineering degree and a master's focusing on biomedical applications.

Psychologist

Average annual earnings: $86,600

Job description: Psychologists diagnose and evaluate mental and emotional disorders. They also conduct research on the same.

Educational requirements: Most states require a doctoral degree, though some states allow people with a master's degree to get licensed and practice in certain cases.

College professor

Average annual earnings: $85,190

Job description: Professors teach students beyond the high-school level in addition to conducting research and writing papers and sometimes books. Pay for professors in areas like physics or economics is higher.

Educational requirements: Generally a PhD is required. A master's might be enough for professors at some colleges or universities.

Chemist

Average annual earnings: $83,850

Job description: Chemists study the properties, structures, and reactions of substances and develop new products or processes for making them.

Educational requirements: A bachelor's is the minimum, but research jobs require a master's or PhD.

Credit analyst

Average annual earnings: $82,300

Job description: These analysts look at the credit data and financial statements of people and companies to determine the risk of extending a loan or credit.

Educational requirements: Becoming a credit analyst generally requires at least a bachelor's degree.

Genetic counselor

Average annual earnings: $80,860

Job description:Genetic counselors assess individual or family risk for a variety of inherited conditions, such as genetic disorders and birth defects. They provide information and advice to other healthcare providers, or to individuals and families concerned with the risk of inherited conditions.

Educationalrequirements: Typically need at least a master's degree in genetic counseling or genetics, although some earn a PhD.

Architect, surveyor, or cartographer

Average annual earnings: $80,300

Job description: Architects plan and design buildings and other types of structures.

Educational requirements: Most accredited architecture programs in the US that grant the license needed to practice are five-year programs that combine a bachelor's and master's. Two-year master's programs are available as well, though some skip the master's degree. A license is required.

Budget analyst

Average annual earnings: $79,830

Job description: Help companies, organizations, or the government organize finances and set program budgets.

Educational requirements: At least a bachelor's degree and sometimes a master's for more senior roles or certain institutions.

Accountant or auditor

Average annual earnings: $78,820

Job description: Accountants serve a variety of functions: calculating, reporting, and checking financial information for individuals and companies. Auditors perform systematic evaluations of data, records, statements, or performance for a legal or other purpose.

Educational requirements: Both jobs generally require at least a bachelor's, and those with an accounting degree will often work toward becoming a certified public accountant. Some employers prefer a master's or an MBA with a focus on accounting.

Web developer

Average annual earnings: $75,580

Job description: Web developers design, create, and modify websites. They also analyze user needs to implement content, graphics, performance, and capacity.

Educationalrequirements: An associate degree in web design or related field is typically required.

Editor

Average annual earnings: $69,480

Job description: Editors plan, review, and revise content for publication. They might also review proposals and drafts for possible publication.

Educationalrequirements: A bachelor's degree in communications, journalism, or English is typically required.

Zoologist or marine/wildlife biologist

Average annual earnings: $67,760

Job description: These biologists study the behavior and characteristics of wild animals.

Educational requirements: Entry-level jobs require at least a bachelor's degree, but a master's is required to move beyond that. Academic and research jobs generally require a PhD.

Historian

Average annual earnings: $66,380

Job description:Historians research, analyze, interpret, and present the past by studying a variety of historical documents and sources.

Educationalrequirements: Most positions require a master's degree. Some research positions require a doctoral degree.

Graphic designer

Average annual earnings: $54,680

Job description: Design and execute visual material, by hand or using software, for logos, advertising material, and more.

Educational requirements: A bachelor's in graphic design is typically expected.

Marriage and family therapist

Average annual earnings: $54,150

Job description: Diagnose and treat mental and emotional health issues to help couples and families have more fulfilling relationships.

Educational requirements: Graduate degree required, either a master's or a doctorate.

Social worker

Average annual earnings: $53,060

Job description: They help people, families, and children deal with issues in their everyday lives. 

Educational requirements: While social workers can have just a bachelor's degree, some choose to get their master's.

Chef or head cook

Average annual earnings: $52,160

Job description: This job covers the whole spectrum, from celebrity chef-owners of restaurants to lead chefs at somebody else's restaurant and the most senior chef at a chain restaurant. But despite the long hours, late nights, and lack of holidays off — and their glamorous portrayal in the media — it is only top-tier chefs and chef-owners who make the big bucks.

Educational requirements: None required, though it's increasingly common for chefs to attend culinary school.

Surgical technologist

Average annual earnings: $49,040

Job description: Surgical technologists, also called operating-room technicians, assist in surgical operations and help prepare ORs, arrange equipment, and assist doctors during surgeries.

Educational requirements: A postsecondary certificate or an associate degree is typically needed.

Legislator

Average annual earnings: $47,620

Job description: These are elected positions, and the salary figure is for full-time staffers, which may not include all state and local elected officials. They debate, draft, and vote on laws at the federal and state levels.

Educationalrequirements: None explicitly required, but most legislators, particularly on the national level, have at least a bachelor's degree. Many have professional degrees as well, most commonly a JD.

• Read more:
• The 15 highest-paying jobs for doctors
• Here's how much surgeons, lawyers, and 20 other top-earning professionals make per hour
• 26 high-paying jobs for people who hate science
• 13 top executives who earn a $1 salary or less

• A master's of science in business analytics could increase your earning potential to rival that of an MBA graduate — but at half of the cost and time commitment.
• Demand is "insatiable" for potential employees with this degree.
• However, domestic students are enrolling at top programs in the United States at far lower rates than their international counterparts.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories 

Top companies like Apple and Amazon say they're looking to fill high-paying analytics roles — and the quickest way to get there just might be a degree that's half the cost and time commitment of an MBA.

A master's of science in business analytics (MSBA) promises students quantitative and business skills to break into positions in data science, quantitative analytics, data business analytics and consulting. Top business schools like MIT Sloan, Carlson at the University of Minnesota, and McCombs at the University of Texas at Austin now offer the program.

The program recently experienced a global 300% increase in applicants, according to Daniel Kahn, senior research executive at education research firm QS Quacquarelli Symonds. Many of these schools boast sterling placement records at top companies (the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, for example, has a 95% placement rate). This is impressive considering that most business schools only began establishing these degrees around five years ago, according to Kahn.

Like many MBA students, MSBAs applicants come from economics and STEM backgrounds. The difference is that these students may want a different career trajectory. The MBA takes twice as long to complete and requires more work experience prior to application (four to five years, versus one to two years for an MSBA). Despite the shorter time frame, the MSBA still offers noteworthy salary increases.

The MSBA earning potential

Sri Zaheer, dean of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, told Business Insider that the program has had an almost perfect record of employment since launching in 2015.

"In three out of the first four years, we have 100% placement for these students," she said.

For the latest class of Carlson graduates, starting salaries are now $96,000 on average, according to Zaheer. Students have gone to work at Facebook, Google, and other top companies around the country, all after only 12 months of additional study. At Carlson, a full-time MSBA costs a total of $44,550 for residents and $63,450 for non-residents, while a full-time MBA totals around $95,660 for residents and $118,220 for non-residents.

MSBA programs also emphasize real-world problem-solving. The Carlson Analytics Lab, for example, allows students to solve real business problems for companies using advanced analytics techniques and actual data. For example, one project with Land O'Lakes, a $15 billion agricultural company based in Arden Hills, Minnesota, centered on identifying why certain farmlands didn't perform as well as others.

"You know, it's not theoretical," Ellen Trader, director of the lab, told Business Insider. "These are real problems the companies are coming to us with, and they really do intend to deploy the work."

Land O'Lakes has worked with the analytics lab for over three years, hiring students from the program in the process. 

"What we look for is somebody who is technical enough to jump in and deal with messy data," Teddy Bekele, CTO of Land O'Lakes, told Business Insider. "At the same time, they also need to be able to not go too technical where they don't know what business value their insights have."

Domestic students aren't applying as much as international students

Despite the US demand for graduates with this degree, the latest QS data shows that three of the five top business analytics programs in the country have less than 20% domestic students.

Carlson in particular is trying to change this.

"The interesting thing is that if you have a US student who's coming to this program, starting salaries are often significantly higher than the international average," Zaheer said. "In one year, many of them are getting the kinds of salaries that MBAs would normally get."

The McCombs School of Business, located at the University of Texas, has the highest percentage of domestic students going for an MSBA among the top five business analytics programs. Prabhudev Konana, McCombs' associate dean of instructional innovation, told Business Insider that this is because of its college pipeline. 

Students admitted in their junior year of college continue on to the fifth year master's, or they complete their undergraduate degree in three years and substitute the fourth for an MSBA. Around 32% of McCombs' MSBA students come from UT Austin's own undergraduate program.  

Why students are drawn to the program

Sasha Kingsley graduated from the University of Rochester's Simon Business School this year with an MSBA. 

"The program made me realize how much easier it is for a data analyst or business analyst to land interviews, internships, or full-time opportunities, versus someone who is an MSF, MS finance, which I saw along my peers," he said.

Kingsley didn't know how to code before he applied to the MSBA program. He had strong finance skills, but after gaining technical skills, he's seen more interest among hiring managers. 

"I have to say I picked up a lot, and I'm really happy with where I stand today in terms of my understanding," he added.

Demand for MSBA grads is "insatiable"

Kingsley's story lines up with the reasons many students give for taking the program. As job seekers in the 21st century, students both domestic and international have to think of the workplace of the future in order to be as marketable as possible.

"At the moment, demand is pretty insatiable," Zaheer said. "Employers are hungry for this skill set."

Analytics features center stage in future job growth. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, market research analysts, which includes data analysts, have an expected growth rate of 23% from 2016 to 2026. That's much faster than the 7% average growth rate for all occupations. 

"Companies are looking for people that can derive dashboards and reports from big data and analyze the data," Kahn said. "That trend isn't going anywhere yet."

SEE ALSO: GLOBAL RANKING: The top 25 online MBA programs

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Kylie Jenner is the world's second highest-paid celebrity. Here's how she makes and spends her $1 billion.

• Alexander Wang is a fashion designer whose clothes are worn by the world's top models and celebrities.
• In an episode of Business Insider's podcast "This Is Success," Wang shared what he learned from his stint as creative director of Balenciaga, cut short after three years in 2015.
• Wang said that he left because he was unable to commit himself fully to the brand while still running his own label, and it taught him the importance of focus and avoiding burnout.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

When Balenciaga and Alexander Wang announced in July 2015 that Wang would be ending his brief run as creative director of the fashion house by the end of the year, it shook the fashion world.

This was one of the most respected brands in high fashion, losing one of the hottest young designers in the industry — whom it had picked up just under three years prior.

Wang recently sat down with Business Insider for an episode of our podcast "This Is Success," and he opened up about the experience, which he remembered as "an incredible but difficult period in my life."

"I would fly red-eye Sunday night, arrive in Paris, 8 a.m., go back to the hotel to change, get to work at like 9:30, work all day until like 9 p.m. — all week to Friday, and then take the red-eye back to New York and spend the weekend in New York," Wang said. He did this two weeks a month for three years. At one point, he was also designing a line for an H&M collaboration. It was exhausting.

But while Wang's stint at Balenciaga may not have met expectations, Wang considers it a learning experience that helped him get to this stage of his career, where he's defying industry norms and passing $150 million in revenue. He explained that it taught him how he needed to be honest with himself and others about what his goals were, as there is only so much time, energy, and creativity to give. He learned the dangers of burnout and how, as the Wharton psychologist Adam Grant has noted, attention management is more important than time management.

2 jobs, 2 cities

François-Henri Pinault is the CEO of Kering, the Paris-based luxury group that owns Balenciaga, as well as other prestigious fashion houses like Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Wang said Pinault personally told him in 2012 that he wanted the young designer to join.

"I had never really thought about designing for another brand," Wang told us. "I never thought about working for another luxury group. But when the opportunity came, it was a really big one." He said that within a month of meeting Pinault, he decided to take the job.

Wang still had the label that carried his name, which he launched in 2005, in New York. He worked out a schedule that would allow him to remain the creative director of both Alexander Wang and Balenciaga, but barely.

"I just got to the point where I was in meetings and I felt like I was pushing paper," Wang said. "And I wasn't even really able to have brain space to think." He said that when he was in Paris, his days would primarily entail sitting in a room and having a nonstop lineup of meetings and presentations of new designs — "rolling rack in, rolling rack out; boards in, boards out."

Read more:How Alexander Wang went from 20-year-old college dropout to head of a global fashion empire beloved by Rihanna, Kanye, and the Kardashians

Unable to commit

And regarding his own output, he soon found that he had a "hierarchy of ideas" and was presented with the challenge of which of his two brands got which ideas. "Do you give your best ideas to the brand that has the bigger platform and better resources, or the one that you really own yourself?" he said. "So, it was always this kind of internal struggle of where I wanted to give my best output."

Despite all of this, his output at Balenciaga was well-reviewed by the fashion press and retail buyers, and the brand did well financially. But the path he was on was personally unsustainable, and he knew it.

Wang told us he was wary from the beginning about commitment. "I think I always knew deep down inside that it was like me going to grad school," he said. He noted that he had dropped out of Parsons School of Design years earlier to start his own label and had never worked for any other designer. It just so happened that his "grad school" experience was having one of the most prestigious roles in the industry.

He also never fully committed himself to Kering. He never bought or even rented an apartment in Paris for his Balenciaga trips, and, most important, he never agreed to give Kering a stake in the Alexander Wang label. It's common practice for a luxury group to take ownership in the label of a designer it acquires, to bring it into the family of brands, but Wang remained reluctant to do so.

As Wang described it to us, his persistence in not offering ownership of his label to Kering communicated to Pinault that he "wasn't locked in for the endgame." When it came time to discuss his departure with Kering's CEO, Wang told us, "It was a very mutual decision," affirming Kering's statement announcing the news in July 2015 that it was a "joint decision" to not renew Wang's contract. The statement portrayed the two sides as leaving on good terms, with Wang headed back to his own label full-time.

"I feel very, very lucky to have that opportunity," Wang told us. "But there's a time period to everything."

Using the experience going forward

The experience taught him the importance of intention and clarity with his goals. When we spoke, he told us that he wanted to elevate his namesake brand to the timeless status that American designers like Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein have. He couldn't hope to achieve that if he wasn't all in on that goal, and likewise he would not be able to give Balenciaga the full breadth of his energy and talent if he wasn't willing to prioritize the fashion house. Goals of that level require full attention, and after a few years of being on the fence about where his priorities were, he and Pinault confirmed what Wang knew inherently.

Wang wasn't going to shut down his label or hand it over to someone else, and a dream job wasn't as appealing if this sacrifice had to be made. "At the end," he told us, "I want to know that the success when I look back after however many years, that I have a brand that I feel ownership over."

Subscribe to "This Is Success" on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher and listen to the episode there or below:

SEE ALSO: A Silicon Valley CEO coach who's worked with hundreds of clients shares a 3-step exercise all leaders can use to determine the cause of workplace problems

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Designer Alexander Wang explains how he balances the business and creative sides of his global fashion empire

Hello,

Welcome to your regularly scheduled Friday edition of Dispensed, where we're looking forward to the weekend after finally getting out our list of 30 leaders under 40 transforming healthcare. We hope you all have enjoyed the project as much as we enjoyed getting to know the honorees this summer. Click here to see the whole list.

But first, I wanted to quickly catch up on the drama surrounding Amazon's online pharmacy PillPack.

Last week, I spent some time digging into the back-and-forth between the tech giant and health data company Surescripts over access to medication history information that Surescripts collects. Between threats of lawsuits and claims of reporting companies to the FBI, it's sure escalated quickly.

That, combined with CNBC's report Tuesday that PillPack has run into issues working with retail pharmacy giants Walgreens and CVS when trying to transfer over prescriptions, to me gets to the heart of a key issue facing the pharmacy industry: Who should be allowed to have what patient data, when?

I spoke with independent pharmacists to get some more context about how medication information is shared today and the pros and cons that come with having more data at your fingertips. Find out more about the debate here. 

Are you new to our newsletter? You can sign up for Dispensed here.

And then in case you missed it, we introduced our 30 leaders under 40 transforming healthcare this week. 

Meet the 30 young leaders who are transforming the future of healthcare and disrupting a $3.5 trillion industry

Over the next few weeks, we'll be putting out stories based on the conversations we had with the nominees. 

• From Clarrie Feinstein's conversation with Fred Hutch's Emily Silgard: A top leader using tech to tackle cancer told us how to get through the challenges of a career switch
• From Emma Court's conversation with Blue Shield of California's Chris Esguerra: A top US health insurer has saved $4 million in one year by making a simple change, and it could be a lesson for others on how to transform a system from the inside out
• From my conversation with Providence St. Joseph Health's Sara Vaezy: A top young executive at a 160-year-old health system reveals why leaders looking to disrupt healthcare from within can't think in decade-long timeframes
• From Emma's conversation with 23andMe VP Emily Drabant Conley: A VP at a $2.5 billion startup reveals exactly how she asked her boss for a big promotion at just 33 years old — and got it
• From Clarrie's chat with UniteUs founder Dan Brillman: How an Air Force Reserve pilot raised $45 million to build a company after struggling to help his fellow veterans

And we asked all our nominees for their best career advice. And wow, there's a lot of good stuff they shared (Definitely taking CVS Health's Ben Wanamaker's advice to "Show up on time" to heart). Read all of their advice. 

How to make an impact on the $3.5 trillion healthcare industry, according to 30 young leaders who are transforming it

Up next: A little biotech dispatch from our pharma reporter, Emma Court:

This week has been a tumultuous one for biotech companies. The FDA revealed that there had been "data manipulation" with a brand-new gene therapy treatment from the biotech AveXis (now owned by Novartis), but said it was only a small portion of the data and the gene therapy, Zolgensma, should stay on the market. Then there was Sarepta, Kala, Amarin, Nektar and more — all saw their stocks seesawing this week on new developments. 

We think biotech investor Brad Loncar put it best, here. 

Lastly, Clarrie rounded up the 41 hottest AI startups out there, even looking beyond healthcare to finance, transportation, etc. Thanks to CB Insights for pulling that data together. 

Clarrie breaks down what each company is working on and how they've made it to $1 billion valuations. 

These are the 41 hottest AI startups worth at least $1 billion, across healthcare, finance, transportation and more

Clarrie and Emma also had a big report out this week on how much each candidate in the 2020 presidential campaign has taken from people who work in healthcare (In light of Sen. Bernie Sanders' commitment not to take donations from the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries).

Thanks to Yutong Yuan on Business Insider's graphics team for the great visualization of the tallies. 

Read more about the donations to each candidate here. 

With that, I'm sure I've given you enough reading material for the whole month! Stay tuned this weekend for more from our 30 under 40 project, and we'll be back next week with more dispatches from the world of health, pharma, and biotech.

In the meantime, tips? Last-minute wedding planning advice? Thoughts on all the biotech drama that unfolded this week? You can find me at lramsey@businessinsider.com and the whole healthcare team at healthcare@businessinsider.com.

- Lydia 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The surprising differences between giving birth in your 20s versus your 30s

• Interviewers may let a white lie or small slip go by without much consequence.
• However, other things you say in a job interview could end your chances right on the spot.
• Here are 12 things you should never say in an interview if you want to get the job.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Nobody's perfect. You could be pro at job interviews, but there's always a chance you'll say something a bit off.

Slipping up and saying something slightly unprofessional won't necessarily sink your candidacy. Your qualifications and endearing personality might just carry you over.

Read more:21 job interview questions that are designed to trick you

That is, unless you say something so bad that you completely wreck your chances. Swearing, lying, or showing your ignorance about what the company does may not just put you in a bad light with your interviewer — it could end the interview right there on the spot.

Here are 12 interview faux pas that could automatically disqualify you, unless you're really lucky:

'What does your company do?'

Questions like this will make you look like you don't even care enough to run a simple Google search. Do a little research on both the company and your interviewer in order to truly put your best foot forward.

'Are you married?/Are you pregnant?/etc.'

Never ask the interviewer any personal questions — or anything that could be offensive. It's just off-putting. 

'S---,' 'b----,' 'f---, ' etc.

Hey, everyone curses. It's better to hold off on the profanities in job interviews, though. That being said, letting out a curse word or two during a funny story might not be a nail in your coffin. Angrily swearing at someone (your interviewer or otherwise), on the other hand, would definitely knock you out of the running.

Anything offensive, sexist, racist, etc.

A job interview isn't the place to break out your controversial opinions or risqué sense of humor. Stay away from topics that could make your interviewer uncomfortable, if possible.

'I want your job'

Put yourselves in your interviewer's shoes. Would you want to hire someone who sounds like they're about to go "All About Eve" on you? Probably not. Focus less on the job they have, and more on the one you're actually being interviewed for.

Anything that indicates this particular organization's not your top choice

Even if you can't imagine yourself staying on at the company too long, it's important not to express this aloud. Your interviewer's not going to respond well to someone that expresses an intention to use the position as a mere stepping stone to something bigger and better.

The same thing goes for interviewing with your second choice. You may have a dream job in the wings that you're waiting to hear back from, but don't make the interviewer feel like you don't value their organization.

Anything that comes off as threatening

Avoid any sentence that starts with "I'd better get this job, or..."

Even if you're just kidding (I mean, hopefully, you're kidding), you'll just come across as creepy and overly aggressive.

Lying to your interviewer

Don't lie. If your lie is obvious, you'll be called out. If it's not, you'll be found out later. In the case of interviewing for a job, honesty is always the best policy.

Don't guilt the interviewer

Any interviewer worth their salt won't allow themselves to be guilted into offering you a job, so save the sob story. They likely don't care about how hard it was for you to be let go from your last job, or even how badly you need this one. Focus on your qualifications and what you could do for the company, not how much you personally need the job.

'Do you want to grab dinner sometime?' or 'Wow, you have such a beautiful smile'

Don't flirt with your interviewer.

I'll say it again — don't flirt with your interviewer. Like, congratulations on being so sure of yourself that you think you can seduce your way into this job, but this tactic is probably going to end badly.

'What job am I interviewing for?'

How have you even made it this far in the process if you don't know what you're being interviewed for? If you're legitimately confused, try asking about what kind of person succeeds in the job, so you sound engaged rather than clueless.

'I know I'm not the most qualified person, but...'

If you say this, the appropriate response from the interviewer is, "Oh, you're not? Goodbye then."

Clearly, the interviewer thinks you're qualified enough to talk to. So stop with the self-deprecation. It's not refreshing. It makes you sound like a sad sack, and the interviewer is going to move along to someone who does think they're the most qualified person.

Rachel Gillett and Áine Cain contributed to previous versions of this article.

• Read more:
• 11 job interview tricks that are hard to master, but will pay off forever
• 16 interview questions that are designed to trick you
• A CEO and former Googler explains the 2 worst interview mistakes young people make
• An ex-Apple HR specialist says these four steps will help you 'perfectly' answer any question in a job interview

SEE ALSO: 11 ways unsuccessful people mismanage their time

DON'T MISS: 12 habits of unsuccessful people

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How Tesla CEO Elon Musk makes and spends his $19.2 billion

• LGBT families are an essential part of communities across America.
• In our recent collection of 50 maps tracking American life today, we included two maps that showed how the LGBT community varies across states.
• Western and Northeastern states have higher shares of the adult population self-identifying as LGBT, while same-sex couples in the South and Mountain West are more likely to be raising children than their coastal peers.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

LGBT-identifying people and their families are an essential part of the American community.

As part of our recent collection of 50 maps tracking American life today, we included the following two maps that look at how the LGBT community varies across states.

Read more: 50 maps that explain how America lives, spends, and believes

The Movement Advancement Project, an advocacy and research group, assembled data from a 2018 analysis by The Williams Institute of Gallup survey results to estimate the share of each state's population that self-identifies as LGBT.

That share ranged from 2.7% of adults in North Dakota self-identifying as LGBT to a high of 9.8% in the District of Columbia. States in the West and Northeast had larger LGBT populations, while many states in the upper Great Plains and the South had a small share of LGBT-identifying adults.

The Movement Advancement Project also published estimates of how many same-sex couples in each state were raising children. Those estimates were based on a Williams Institute analysis of data from the US Census, which determines family structures based on who respondents list as a spouse and as their own children in their households, rather than asking specific questions about sexual orientation or gender identity.

In what might be a somewhat surprising result, some of the states with the lowest shares of self-identified LGBT adults had very high shares of same-sex couples raising children. For example, while just 2.9% of adults in Montana identified themselves as LGBT according to the above Gallup data, a full 22% of same-sex couples in that state had children.

• Read more:
• Here's what LGBT Gen Z students want in their future employers — and where they want to work
• This map shows the highest-paying job in every state (we should've been doctors)
• This map shows the happiest states in the US — and the ones that are struggling
• From secretaries to substitute teachers, these are the fastest-dying jobs in every US state

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Ray Dalio shares what he's learned from his succession plan at the world's largest hedge fund

• Jerry Colonna is a former startup investor who has been a renowned CEO coach for the past 12 years and has worked with an estimated 500 clients.
• His "agenda" exercise is a simple but effective way to identify the root of a person's conflict, whether big or small.
• C-Suite Insider is a collection of exclusive interviews with leaders of the world's largest companies.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

The CEO coach Jerry Colonna believes that if you're struggling as a leader, a fix is likely not going to come from a simple adjustment to your workflow or budget: You're going to have to dig deep and determine what aspect of your mindset is holding you back.

Over the past 12 years, Colonna has built a reputation, primarily in Silicon Valley, for the effectiveness of his approach. He estimates that over that time he's had more than 500 clients, including founders of companies like Etsy, SoundCloud, and Twilio.

Colonna recently sat down with Business Insider to discuss his career as a prominent venture capitalist turned coach and his new book, "Reboot," which is also the name of his coaching firm. He joked with us that his approach couldn't be distilled into something like "5 steps to being a great leader," since he believes leadership has to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. Still, he's developed a set of general exercises — and you don't have to be a CEO to use them.

A simple one he uses early in the process is an agenda breakdown.

"What I often will do is ask the client to write out what their agenda is," Colonna said. "I might have a question that goes something like, 'A year from now, I want you to imagine that the coaching was incredibly successful and that you're really happy with it. What would you have accomplished? How would you feel? What would be different?'"

He then has his clients break down their goals into three levels of agendas, to discover what is really driving them. Because that can get quite complex, he gave us a simple everyday example to show us how the exercise works.

Let's say you are frustrated with your job and feel like you are not fulfilling your potential. No other opportunity is coming your way, and you feel stuck. You break down your feelings.

• Presenting agenda: What are you telling yourself on the surface? "I need a new job."
• Secondary agenda: You haven't looked for new opportunities either within or outside of your current role. What are you telling yourself a layer below the surface? "I lack the confidence needed to get a new job."
• Tertiary agenda: So you haven't looked elsewhere because you're not confident. Why are you afraid of putting yourself out there? "I'm not worthy of a better job."

In this scenario, you've realized that you are unhappy but have been operating with a justification for that unhappiness, which allows you to be passive about your problem. You knew all along that this feeling of unworthiness was there, but the exercise brought it to light in a way that it could then be addressed. At this point, you could explore that feeling and determine whether it was based solely on self-deception about personal worth, or if it was rooted in actual poor performance that has come from a lack of effort or inspiration. Either way, you're now able to make changes.

So, whether or not you're an executive, and whether or not you want a coach who can facilitate a thorough, personalized analysis of your behavior, try the agenda exercise. Because after all, if you don't know what your real problem is, you can't solve it.

SEE ALSO: A Silicon Valley CEO coach who's worked with Twilio and Etsy says that successful leadership begins with asking yourself fundamental questions — not mimicking Jeff Bezos

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Ray Dalio shares what he's learned from his succession plan at the world's largest hedge fund

• No matter how busy executives seem to be, they always seem to have time to prioritize reading.
• Elon Musk follows this pattern. Instead of relying on self-help books or just nonfiction pieces, he reads across different genres. 
• We explored Musk's previous interviews and social media to compile a list of 12 books that he's recommended.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, Tesla, and other larger-than-life tech companies, somehow also seems to find time to read.

Musk has said that reading a variety of books — from epic works of fantasy like the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy to complex how-to books on building rockets — is crucial to his success.

We looked through Musk's past interviews and social media history to come up with a list of 12 books the billionaire entrepreneur thinks everyone should read.

Take a look below.

SEE ALSO: Ray Dalio says anyone who wants to understand today's world should read a 32-year-old book about empires

"The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Musk had a nickname when he was a shrimpy, smart-mouthed kid growing up in South Africa: Muskrat.

The New Yorker reported in 2009 that "in his loneliness, he read a lot of fantasy and science fiction."

Those books — notably "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien — shaped Musk's vision of his future self.

"The heroes of the books I read ... always felt a duty to save the world," he told The New Yorker.

For those who've already read the books and seen the movies but are still hurting for more Middle Earth, Amazon is working on a "Lord of the Rings" TV series.

Buy it here »

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams

In this comedic sci-fi book, a supercomputer finds the "answer" to a meaningful life: the number 42.

To Musk, who read this as a young teenager in South Africa, the book was instrumental to his thinking. He was so enamored with it, in fact, that when he launched his Tesla Roadster into space in February, he put the words "Don't Panic!" — which graced the cover of some early editions of the book — on the car's center screen.

When asked in a 2015 interview about his favorite spaceship from science fiction, he said, "I'd have to say that would be the one in 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' that's powered by the improbability drive."

Buy it here »

"Benjamin Franklin: An American Life" by Walter Isaacson

Musk has repeatedly described Benjamin Franklin, one of the US's founding fathers and an accomplished inventor, as one of his heroes.

Franklin was one of the first to prove that lightning is electricity in his famous kite experiment, which led to the invention of the lightning rod. He's also credited with inventing bifocals: glasses with two distinct optical lenses.

In this biography of Franklin, "you can see how he was an entrepreneur," Musk said in an interview with Foundation, a platform for nonprofits working on climate-change issues. "He was an entrepreneur. He started from nothing. He was just a runaway kid."

Musk added: "Franklin's pretty awesome."

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"Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down" by J.E. Gordon

When Musk started SpaceX, he was coming from a coding background. But he took it upon himself to learn the fundamentals of rocket science.

One of the books that helped him was "Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down," a popular take on structural engineering by J.E. Gordon, a British material scientist.

"It is really, really good if you want a primer on structural design," Musk said in an interview with KCRW, a southern California radio station.

Because of his interest in rocket mechanics, Musk got intimately involved with the planning and design of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket. He has served as the chief designer at SpaceX as well as CEO.

"The reason I ended up being the chief engineer or chief designer was not because I wanted to — it's because I couldn't hire anyone; nobody good would join," Musk said during a talk in 2017 about how he plans to colonize Mars.

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"Ignition: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants" by John D. Clark

In Musk's quest to learn and master complicated subjects, "Ignition" was crucial in helping him get a handle on rockets, he's said.

John D. Clark was an American chemist who was active in the development of rocket fuels in the 1960s and 70s. The book is an account of the growth of the field and an explanation of how the science works.

Musk took the book's lesson to heart when he was working on SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket system. SpaceX used cryogenically cooled RP-1, a type of kerosene used in jets, and liquid oxygen to combust the fuel used to launch the rocket.

While the book is hard to find, it's available online here.

"Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies" by Nick Bostrom

Musk has repeatedly warned against the dangers of unchecked artificial intelligence.

"We need to be super careful with AI," he tweeted in 2014, adding that it's "potentially more dangerous than nukes."

In a documentary about artificial intelligence called "Do You Trust This Computer?" Musk said AI could be used to create an "immortal dictator from which we could never escape."

He added: "We are rapidly heading towards digital superintelligence that far exceeds any human. I think it's very obvious."

To find out why these risks are so scary, Musk says it's worth reading Nick Bostrom's "Superintelligence," which makes the daring inquiry into what would happen if computational intelligence surpassed human intelligence.

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"Our Final Invention" by James Barrat

"Our Final Invention" gives still more warnings about the dangers of artificial intelligence. Musk called the book a "worthy read" in a 2014 tweet.

Barrat takes a close look at the potential future of AI, weighing its advantages and disadvantages.

Barrat says on his website that the book is at least partly "about AI's catastrophic downside, one you'll never hear about from Google, Apple, IBM, and DARPA."

Musk agrees.

"AI doesn't have to be evil to destroy humanity — if AI has a goal and humanity just happens to be in the way, it will destroy humanity as a matter of course without even thinking about it, no hard feelings," he said in a documentary about artificial intelligence.

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The "Foundation" series by Isaac Asimov

In addition to the "Lord of the Rings" books, Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" series made up part of Musk's early interest in science fiction and fantasy.

The books center on the fall of the fictional Galactic Empire, which consists of millions of planets settled by humans across the Milky Way.

The stories may have had a huge influence on Musk's career trajectory. Here's what he said about the series in a 2013 interview with the Guardian:

"The lessons of history would suggest that civilizations move in cycles. You can track that back quite far — the Babylonians, the Sumerians, followed by the Egyptians, the Romans, China.

"We're obviously in a very upward cycle right now, and hopefully that remains the case. But it may not. There could be some series of events that cause that technology level to decline.

"Given that this is the first time in 4.5 billion years where it's been possible for humanity to extend life beyond Earth, it seems like we'd be wise to act while the window was open and not count on the fact it will be open a long time."

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"The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert Heinlein

This award-winning science-fiction novel, published in 1966, paints a picture of a dystopia not too far in the future. It's exactly the kind of vivid fantasy world that would satisfy an active imagination like Musk's.

In the book, several people have been exiled from Earth to the moon, where they have created a libertarian society.

In the year 2076, a group of rebels — including a supercomputer named Mike and a one-armed computer technician — leads the lunar colony's revolution against its Earth-bound rulers.

In an interview at an MIT symposium in 2014, Musk said the book was Heinlein's best work.

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"Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" by Max Tegmark

If you're sensing a theme among the books on this list, it's that Musk is really into exploring the future of artificial intelligence.

In "Life 3.0," the MIT professor Max Tegmark writes about how to keep artificial intelligence beneficial for human life and ensure that technological progress remains aligned with humanity's goals for the future.

It's one of the few books Musk recommends that deal with the possibility of AI as a force for good rather than evil.

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"Merchants of Doubt" by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway

"Merchants of Doubt" — now also a documentary— was written by two historians of science.

They make the case that scientists with political and industry connections have obscured the facts surrounding a series of public-health issues, including tobacco, pesticide use, and holes in the ozone layer.

Musk recommended the book at a conference in 2013 and later pointed to the book's key takeaway in a tweet, saying that the same forces that denied that smoking caused cancer were denying the danger of climate change.

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"Einstein: His Life and Universe" by Walter Isaacson

Musk is a big fan of Walter Isaacson's biographies.

In a 2012 interview, Musk recommended Isaacson's biography of Albert Einstein, a man who left a profound mark on science and human history.

The book is based on Einstein's personal letters and explores how he went from a young, frustrated patent officer to a Nobel Prize winner.

It's a story that likely inspired Musk.

Buy it here »