Finding a Place to Work and Putting Work in its Place: IAP 2026
What do you actually want to do with your life?
Success is a tricky thing to define. Checking off boxes on a career ladder? Maybe “doing what you love”? Or getting on a 30 under 30 list? And once you’ve defined success, searching for it can leave you disillusioned, anxious, and in crisis — as most MIT students have already found out after a midnight mental breakdown.
This four-session IAP course, taught by Cullen Buie (MechE), will work through how to navigate the big questions of work, meaning, and identity. We’ll start with the big picture by evaluating several frameworks for building a meaningful life. Then, we’ll move to the practical work of designing a roadmap for the kind of success you want.
Each week will include lecture and conversation over a catered lunch. If you’re coming, please sign up so we can have an accurate food headcount!
Fridays during IAP 2026: January 9 - 30, 2026
11am-1pm, Maseeh Hall Private Dining Room (free lunch included)
Week 1: The Work Behind the Work
Homework for Week 2: Go online and find examples of how MIT describes its mission and describes success - its mission statement, other documents, YouTube videos, social media posts, admissions material, alumni relations, etc. Come to class prepared to share and discuss what you found.
Readings for Week 2 (optional, if you have time or want to dig deeper after you’ve done the homework): Click here to download a pdf of the following short selections, from the anthology Leading Lives that Matter, edited by Mark Schwehn and Dorothy Bass
The Ethics of Authenticity, Charles Taylor
No-Self or Not-Self?, Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle
On Love, Josef Pieper
Martha Nussbaum, interview with Bill Moyers
”Good Will Hunting” screenplay, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
Week 2: Perception v. Reality
Readings for Week 3: Click here to download a pdf of the following short selections, from the anthology Leading Lives that Matter, edited by Mark Schwehn and Dorothy Bass
CS Lewis, “Learning in Wartime”
Chuang Tzu, “Mastering Life”
Dorothy Sayers, “Why Work?”
Gilbert Meilaender, “Friendship and Vocation”
Mencius, “Sayings”
Additional Readings mentioned in class:
Paul Graham, Cities and Ambition
David Brooks, How the Ivy League Broke America
Derek Thompson, Workism is Making Americans Miserable
Carol S. Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (link to book)
Michael Young, The Rise of the Meritocracy (link to book)
Michael Sandel, The Tyranny of Merit (link to book)
Week 3: Alternative Frameworks that Might Work
Slides from Week 3 (including reflection questions on the influences that have shaped your understanding of work)
Preparation for Week 4:
Review your “Plan A,” “Plan B,” and “Plan C” from week one
Log in to the Stanford EdX Course Odyssey Planning, taught by Dave Evans (you may need to create a free account)
Review the videos and material for the first two sections of Part 3 of the course, “The Odyssey”: “The Odyssey Plan” and “5-year timelines.” Feel free to review other parts of the course as well, but these sections will prepare you to expand your life “plans” in class this week.
Week 4: Making it All Work Together