Mark Cuban: Getting Paid to Learn

What should you do if you hate your job?

During our conversation on In Search of Excellence, I asked this question to Mark Cuban – an incredible serial entrepreneur, best-selling author, original investor on Shark Tank, and owner of the Dallas Mavericks – and he gave my viewers and listeners an illuminating answer.

Mark prefaced his answer with a comment that we are always free agents, and stated that we should be allowed to look for our next job even while we are still working at our current job.

But more importantly, Mark gave some awesome advice that not many people follow:? he advised us that we should view our current job as an opportunity where we are getting paid to learn.? “This is where people who are on jobs that they don’t like make a mistake,” Mark said.? “You can learn more from the jobs that you don’t like than from the jobs that you do like.”

Mark’s first job at Mellon Bank was an experience full of ups and downs.? Even though he did not get along with his boss, he knew that his number one job as an employee was to maximize earnings for his company – and he did everything in his power to do so.? It was a huge bank but that didn’t deter him from trying to add value wherever he could:? he found a magazine article that gave his company a way to cut costs with Social Security; he helped his office convert from paper-based to digitized systems; he even inaugurated a Rookie Club to get senior executives to meet analysts at a bar and chat with them.? His boss didn’t like what he was doing, and eventually Mark was forced to leave for stepping on his boss’s toes – but the experiences he gained at Mellon Bank were invaluable for the rest of his career.

When I speak to my mentees about their career paths, I always give them the same advice:? you may not like – or even hate – your job, but you should stay in your first job for at least two years no matter what.? Many of my mentees complain to me about their current jobs – whether it’s because they don’t get along with their boss, dislike or even hate the work they’re doing, don’t like their colleagues, thought they would be doing more interesting work, or even dislike the city where they’re working.? It’s work, and that’s why they call it work.? I always remind them to stay put and tough it out – because even at the most awful jobs, you are getting paid to learn important lessons that might shape your future.

This article is based on my interview with Mark Cuban , a serial entrepreneur, investor, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and a host of Shark Tank on NBC.? Mark made his initial fortune through the sales of his startups MicroSolutions and Broadcast.com in the 1990s and was ranked #177 on the 2020 Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest residents in the United States.? In January 2022, he launched the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company with the mission of lowering generic drug prices for end consumers in the US.? Mark is the best-selling author of How to Win at the Sport of Business and occasionally appears in popular television shows including Entourage , Dancing with the Stars , and The League .? Mark is also the founder of the Mark Cuban Foundation , which leads programs including the AI Bootcamps Initiative , a free Artificial Intelligence training program for underserved high school students, and the Fallen Patriot Fund , which helps families of U.S. military personnel who were killed or seriously injured during Operation Iraqi Freedom.? Listen to the full episode here .

You may also enjoy other episodes on In Search of Excellence , which can be found on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Google Podcasts , Overcast , and YouTube .

Randall Kaplan is a serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, philanthropist, and podcaster.?He is the founder and CEO of JUMP Investors , a venture capital firm that has invested in more than 80 early-to-late-stage technology companies, including Google, Seagate, and Lyft.?Randall is a Co-Founder of Akamai Technologies , a publicly-traded technology company that has 8,000 employees around the world and earned $3.8 billion in 2022 revenues.?He is also the Founder and CEO of Sandee , the largest provider of information about beaches in the world with over 100 categories of information for more than 100,000 beaches in 212 countries.

Randall is the host of In Search of Excellence , a podcast designed to motivate and inspire others to reach their potential and achieve excellence in all aspects of life.?Randall’s guests have included Mike Tyson , Mark Cuban , Kevin O'Leary , David Solomon , Bob Pittman , Sharon Stone , David Rubenstein , Steve Case , Orlando Bravo , Sammy Hagar , Sam Zell , Rachel Zoe , Tim Draper , Kliff Kingsbury , and Eric Garcetti , among many others.?Randall is also a dedicated philanthropist – he is the founder of The Justice Ball which has raised more than $8 million for a non-profit legal clinic that aids more than 12,000 poor, sick, elderly, and homeless residents of Los Angeles each year, and is the Co-Founder of The Imagine Ball which has raised millions of dollars and is dedicated to ending the cycle of poverty and homelessness in Los Angeles.

Read Randall's full bio at www.randallkaplan.com .