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Ask HN: 40+ Career Advice?

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Re: Ask HN: 40+ Career Advice?

#121

Post by azangru »

samstave wrote: post #72
unit91 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have kids and down-voted your comment. Simply because a person has (or might have) the capacity for working overtime doesn't mean this should be a requirement. We're employees, not slaves.

Thats not what I meant - the OP stated "I dont have kids and I want to be able to work overtime and focus on a project" -- so, my comment was "well if you dont have kids, you should be better able to work overtime and focus on a project"

That’s really interesting. Reading the OP's post:

> I would like to be able to not be stressed and work overtime and solve hard technical problems and move towards a more rewarding job

I cannot tell whether he is saying he would like to be able to work overtime, or whether he doesn't want to work overtime. I would assume, "work overtime" has a tighter coupling with the preceding "not" than with the preceding "would like to", but can't tell for sure.

Re: Ask HN: 40+ Career Advice?

#122

Post by deanmoriarty »

deanmoriarty wrote: post #99
richrichardsson wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How have you arrived at that conclusion? A few million = 3-5 million. Even at the low end that involves having 150k spare a year, plus a house and retirement fund? You're having a laugh.

Why is that laughable? 150k spare a year, diligently invested 20 years with an overall real return rate of 5% (which should be relatively achievable with index funds, otherwise our capitalist machine is in serious trouble and it won't matter too much what my portfolio does) compound to $5.2M. And that's a real return rate so it should be protected against inflation (add a ~3% if you want to do pre-inflation calculati…

I would really love to know why this was downvoted? This is what I don’t like about HN, one spends time to come up with a reasonable, realistic and thorough comment, and just gets downvoted. Makes me lose motivation for writing my future next comment.

Re: Ask HN: 40+ Career Advice?

#123

Post by deanmoriarty »

liftbigweights wrote: post #114
deanmoriarty wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is harsh but true. I am an average 32 years old software engineer in the Bay Area, and in my average 8 years career I amassed roughly $1.2M by diligently saving, investing in index funds and living frugally. My real hope is that by the time I’m in my mid 40s this amount, including the new savings, will have at least doubled (if not 3X), and I’ll be able to retire or take some very light job in a cheaper area, no…

Yeah. I'm surprised that I'm downvoted. If you are clearing six figures ( most software devs should in this environment ), you could max out your 401k/ira/etc ( $40K ) to lower your tax basis and then save half the remaining income easily. Especially if you are single with no kids. My biggest problem was hitting the max and not being able to shelter more income from taxes. $40K per year in retirement + $20K or $30K i…

Fully agree.

Just out of curiosity, is the $40k pre-tax including 401k contributions of a spouse too? Otherwise, how can I, as an single person, achieve retirement contributions of $40k?

In general, working for startups with crappy retirement plans, retirement accounts have been a big pain point for me, a big portion of my assets are actually held in taxable accounts, which is not too bad if you invest in tax efficient funds which at most provide qualified dividends, and during a downturn you can do some valuable tax loss harvesting, but I would gladly take advantage of more tax deferred space.

Re: Ask HN: 40+ Career Advice?

#124

Post by ethagnawl »

jcadam wrote: post #96
milesvp wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the end of the day life happens. Interviewing can take a tremendous amount of effort, and worse, since you generally need to hide it from your current employer, it also can feel gross emotionally. And on top of all that, the best time to interview is actually when you're generally happy with your job, and are working on projects that you like and are good for tou mentally, since you'll come across much happier and…

Also, as an employed engineer I only have so many vacation days I can burn on interviewing (esp. since I like to take an actual vacation every so often). This usually amounts to interviewing at 2-3 companies a year given each one involves multiple rounds, travel (if out of town), etc., only to hear, yet again, that I'm not a "cultural fit." So, I reach a point each year where I'm turning away companies trying to recr…

> So, I reach a point each year where I'm turning away companies trying to recruit me).

I know this feeling very well and, it sounds like, for the same reasons. I don't know about you, but my family/friends look at me like I have two heads when I tell them this -- as do the recruiters at Twooglezon. (It also must make me sound like an arrogant ass ...)

I've decided that, based on recent experiences, interviewing with these companies is just not worth the logistical/emotional/psychological toll the exercise demands. I'm also pretty sure I wouldn't be happy if I got any of these jobs, anyways. (Something one of them recently told me in their rejection letter.) I've been running my own consultancy and have built up a modest network of clients, so if I'm really lucky, I'll get to continue to work this way for the foreseeable future.

Re: Ask HN: 40+ Career Advice?

#125

Post by icedchai »

deanmoriarty wrote: post #122
deanmoriarty wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is that laughable? 150k spare a year, diligently invested 20 years with an overall real return rate of 5% (which should be relatively achievable with index funds, otherwise our capitalist machine is in serious trouble and it won't matter too much what my portfolio does) compound to $5.2M. And that's a real return rate so it should be protected against inflation (add a ~3% if you want to do pre-inflation calculati…

I would really love to know why this was downvoted? This is what I don’t like about HN, one spends time to come up with a reasonable, realistic and thorough comment, and just gets downvoted. Makes me lose motivation for writing my future next comment.

Probably because coming up with 150K/spare year to invest, right out of the gate, is unrealistic. 50K, maybe, if you live in low-COL area on a good salary...

Re: Ask HN: 40+ Career Advice?

#126

Post by RickJWagner »

I work in support. Many of my colleagues work remote, and you are increasingly rewarded for deep technical knowledge.

It's not for everybody, but it's been great for me. Many of your 'wish list' items seem aligned.

Good luck.

(Edit: I am in my 50s. I feel it's possible to continue in a similar role 'till retirement age.)

Re: Ask HN: 40+ Career Advice?

#127

Post by bpicolo »

deanmoriarty wrote: post #122
deanmoriarty wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is that laughable? 150k spare a year, diligently invested 20 years with an overall real return rate of 5% (which should be relatively achievable with index funds, otherwise our capitalist machine is in serious trouble and it won't matter too much what my portfolio does) compound to $5.2M. And that's a real return rate so it should be protected against inflation (add a ~3% if you want to do pre-inflation calculati…

I would really love to know why this was downvoted? This is what I don’t like about HN, one spends time to come up with a reasonable, realistic and thorough comment, and just gets downvoted. Makes me lose motivation for writing my future next comment.

Because 150k spare a year is drastically higher than the savings of a typical software engineer? That implies like a 400k+ salary.

Re: Ask HN: 40+ Career Advice?

#128

Post by softawre »

Where are you located?

I might have a job that would interest you. You might be able to be remote part time , at least until we get to know you.

We hit all of your marks (devs have offices, laid back, we all WAH 3 days a week). We are near Indianapolis.

Re: Ask HN: 40+ Career Advice?

#129

Post by kalecserk »

oppositelock wrote: post #94

I'm in my mid forties and I've been working for pay in tech since '96, so this puts me in a similar demographic like yours. I think you're being too picky and greatly limiting your job choices. I miss the days of private offices, but those days are over in any moderately cutting edge companies. You'll find offices in Cisco, Juniper and Oracle, you'll find open seating at Google, Facebook, and startups. WFH friendly c…

Hello!

I am currently 36, working for pay as a software developer since 1999, father of three -- and I would like to reiterate oppositelock's comment: "you're being too picky"

I totally understand your frustration with all this "helping other people" buzz but... Ultimately this is the job to be done by you right now :)

About the entire open-office culture, since I am a manager I have been granted a private office - which I have immediately converted into a shared quiet space to work for whoever might need it. I actually prefer to be where things get done.

I really think the problem lies in the engineering culture and maturity of the teams you had the chance to work with. Keep on looking!

Best,

Re: Ask HN: 40+ Career Advice?

#130

Post by teuobk »

lowdest wrote: post #113
jcroll wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> remember what they do to engineers that are over 40. May I ask what do you mean by this? I'm an engineer entering my late 30's, what is it exactly that I have to prepare for by the time I enter my 40s?

I believe the end of that joke is "they take them out and shoot them."

The joke as shown in the movie Primer:

https://youtu.be/fN-VAdAnoZ4?t=25

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