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

Week 3: Alternative Frameworks that Might Work

Week 4: Making it All Work Together