Fei-Fei Li, widely known as the "Godmother of AI" for her pioneering work on ImageNet, has urged young professionals in the AI field to stop overthinking every detail of their career choices. Speaking on an episode of "Lenny's Podcast" released on Sunday, Li shared her concerns that many young talent are getting caught up in minute decisions when evaluating job opportunities. “I do find many of the young people today think about every single aspect of an equation when they decide on jobs at some point,” Li said. “It’s a privilege to receive applications from passionate AI engineers and researchers who want to join World Labs, the company I co-founded last year to build AI models capable of perceiving, generating, and interacting with 3D environments. But sometimes I do want to encourage young people to focus on what’s truly important.” Li, a longtime Stanford computer science professor, emphasized that she often finds herself in a mentoring role during conversations with candidates—not just recruiting, but guiding them toward clarity. She encouraged young professionals to step back and ask themselves three core questions: “Where’s your passion? Do you align with the mission? Do you believe and have faith in this team?” “Just focus on the impact you can make and the kind of work and team you can work with,” she said. Her message underscores a growing sentiment among top tech and AI leaders: that soft skills like creativity, initiative, and belief in a mission are increasingly valuable—sometimes even more so than technical expertise or pedigree. This perspective aligns with comments from other industry figures. Liang Wenfeng, founder of the Chinese AI lab DeepSeek, has previously stated that creativity and passion matter more than experience in the long run. “If you are pursuing short-term goals, it is right to find people with ready experience,” he said in a 2023 interview. “But if you look at the long-term, experience is not that important. Basic skills, creativity, and passion are much more important.” Similarly, Ryan Roslansky, CEO of LinkedIn, recently highlighted adaptability and initiative as key traits for future success. Speaking at a fireside chat, he said the future of work will favor those who are ready to learn, embrace change, and use AI tools effectively—regardless of their academic background. “My guess is that the future of work belongs not anymore to the people that have the fanciest degrees or went to the best colleges, but to the people who are adaptable, forward thinking, ready to learn, and ready to embrace these tools.”