Does it Pay to Be a Nerd?

Does it pay to be a nerd?

That is an excellent question. I think the answer is "Yes, but from a certain point of view."

We only have to look around us to see nerds who are successful, people for whom being a nerd has paid off in a big way. There are nerds who get paid big money to star alongside the likes of Adam Baldwin and Yvonne Strahovski, to test video game concepts and consoles, to write marvelous adventures that test our minds, men and women who have taken their nerdiness and translated it into dollar signs.

I know there are plenty of nerds who haven't achieved that level of "sucess" as measured by the world. Among these are those men and women who are happy doing the nerdy things they love, even if it's not for the big bucks mentioned above.

And then there's you and me, ordinary nerds who have yet to connect being a nerd with success or happiness in our careers. This theme that I'm blogging about over the next several months is meant to be an encouragement to all of us that being a nerd can pay off, that we can take those things about which we are passionate, and turn them into careers or highly encouraging jobs.

I'm planning to tackle several different topics that have to do with the idea of "being a nerd" and having that nerdiness pay off for us. There are so much room for conversation under this broad theme. For example, I'll take a look at some of those nerds who have made big money, or achieved greatness on the basis of their nerd status. We'll look at jobs that nerds would love, especially if you are a similar sort of nerd to me. I'll write generally about being a nerd in "ordinary" society, and encourage all of us to challenge the stigma of being a nerd. The first thing I'll do, though, is define our terms,so we know what we're talking about when we use terms like "nerd" or "paying off", or any of the rest.

The biggest thing that I want to do is encourage nerds to go out there and be successful while embracing their nerdiness. It's not something everyone can do, but I believe most of us can make efforts to incorporate that nerdy behavior and likes into a mainstream career, or even into a non-mainstream job that we love.

Enjoy, and please, start a conversation!